A building that once housed a bustling Redding nightspot has gone up in smoke. Bert and Ernie’s on Industrial Street between Hilltop and Larkspur had a successful 20 year run, but it’s been closed since 2012 and was boarded up. It was problematic in it’s latter days, with very frequent calls for service by Redding Police and multiple suspensions of its license. The former bar caught fire overnight at around 2:30AM and arriving Redding Fire Department Personnel found smoke billowing from every side. They called a second alarm, bringing all of the city’s resources to the scene as the structure became fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to neighboring businesses, a printing shop on one side and Moule’s Glass on the other side. Investigators believe the fire was human-caused as electricity had long been disconnected. The building has been known to have been occupied as a shelter by homeless squatters.
-Steve Gibson