UPDATE: Commercial Structure Fire Near Tracks Triggers Major Delays On BART's Richmond Line
EL CERRITO (CBS SF) -- An early Tuesday morning fire that erupted inside an abandoned Taco Bell restaurant in El Cerrito, triggering major delays on the nearby Richmond BART line from nearly an hour.
El Cerrito fire reported the blaze in a building at 11965 San Pablo Ave. at 4:24 a.m. At least 10 units responded to the scene.
Once on the scene, firefighters found flames pouring out of the roof and heavy smoke billowing out of the structure. Near the rear of the building were the elevated tracks of BART's Richmond line.
BART officials said the fire was close enough to the El Cerrito del Norte Station to force them to shut down operations on the line.
The shutdown caused major delays on the Richmond Line in both directions. During the delay, A.C. Transit bus 72M provided service between Richmond, El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza stations.
In a 5:50 a.m. tweet, BART officials said that they had received the green light to resume service between the stations, but advised morning commuter to expect residual delays.
