NEWPORT BEACH : Restaurant on Pier Damaged in Blaze

The Fisherman’s Galley Restaurant at the end of the pier sustained partial damage Monday after one of its walls and part of the ceiling caught fire, fire officials said.

Investigators suspect the fire, which began about 2 p.m., was caused by a short-circuit in the outside neon lighting system.

Restaurant employees said an angler alerted them that one of the outside walls was smoldering.

About 15 customers were inside, bartender Walter Washburn said. Some of the employees used fire extinguishers before firefighters arrived, he said.

Restaurant manager Darren Yanosy said that when he arrived between 8 and 9 a.m., something was wrong with the lights. The neon, he said, wasn’t on.

He said a similar fire occurred six months ago when an angler casting his line overhead broke the neon sign and short-circuited the lighting system.

Fire Department Battalion Chief Don Jones said that because firefighters can’t take trucks onto the pier, the department sent a firefighting boat to the scene to help the other three engine companies quell the relatively small blaze.

He estimated the damage at about $2,500. No one was injured.