Fire destroys landmark store
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The landmark building that housed the old-time general merchandise store for the Yosemite company town of El Portal burned to the ground early Monday.
The El Portal Market burned down in a 5 a.m. blaze, according to a spokesman for Yosemite National Park, the biggest employer in the small town just west of the park’s entrance on California 140.
Built in the early 1930s to serve park visitors traveling to Yosemite via the railroad, the old marketplace was a throwback to a different era.
It served as a general store and community meeting place.
Park managers are considering options for replacing the building, which was shut down for renovations at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
-- Eric Bailey
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