McDonald's in Tarpey Village remains closed after kitchen fire

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Firefighters are cleaning up after flames spread through the kitchen of a McDonald's restaurant in Tarpey Village on Wednesday.

Around 7:40 am, Fresno County Fire, Fresno City Fire, and the Clovis Fire Department all responded to a fire at McDonald's on Clovis and Ashlan.

"There's some heavy fire in the attic space and in the kitchen and in the electrical room," said Fresno County/CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Brandon Markle.

Footage from Action News' Skyview 30 drone shows large holes still on the roof where firefighters battled the fire.

While no one was injured and everyone quickly evacuated, Markle says repairs could take time.

"We were able to get the belongings out. It won't be safe for them to work inside there for quite some time," explained Markle.

Matthew Gore, a Fresno County Public Health Environmental Specialist, says their team is crucial when fires happen at restaurants and other commercial kitchens.

"Typically, we're not getting called all along the way, you know, we show up when the fire happens, and then we show up when all the stuff has been repaired," said Gore.

Gore says in his experience, even though the restaurant is still standing, typically, when they inspect the kitchen, it's clear it could take time to be able to make food again.

"it could take several or many, many months. So, every situation is different, you know, with the McDonald's being a corporate store, I would imagine they're going to flip that and resume service pretty soon," said Gore.

Regardless of a fire at a locally owned restaurant or a company like McDonald's, the health department is still needed throughout the process.

"For sure, before the restaurant can we reopen, we need to come out and do an inspection and verify the place is safe and ready to serve food," said Gore.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

For news updates, follow Brianna Willis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.