Fire destroys historic Ritz restaurant

An historic building on the shore of Clear Lake was destroyed by fire today.The “Ritz” restaurant was built in the 1930’s and was the last buildingremaining from the old Bayside Amusement Park. Clear Lake Fire Chief RobBell says the fire may have started in a back area of the restaurantcontaining deep fat fryers.Firefighters were able to save a nearby house despite the intense flames ofthe fire. The fire was so intense it melted the siding on adjacent houses. There wereno injuries reported from the fire, but Bell says a number of firefightershad to be treated for heat exhaustion.