 "Photo: Judy Tsui")
The Oasis, the popular restaurant and salsa venue known far and wide for its spectacular cliff-side view of Lake Travis, had much of its property destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. By noon, the last evidence of the fire was still not completely extinguished, and smoke could be detected in the air more than a half-mile away.
Bruce Watson, chief of the Hudson Bend Fire Department, said firefighters arrived around 4:36 a.m. to extinguish the fire that he later estimated destroyed 750,000 square feet of the building.
The Oasis owner Beau Theriot said the fire was probably caused by lightning that hit a lower dining deck and then spread, but Watson did not rule out other possibilities.
"Lightning is suspect, but the investigators are checking out all angles," Watson said.
The Hudson Bend Fire Department was later joined by the Austin and Jolleyville fire departments to help prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the property and the outlying area.
Watson said no one was harmed by the blaze.
Theriot learned of the fire early Wednesday morning when his niece, who lives near the restaurant, heard a loud "boom." She called Theriot after she looked out her window and saw flames. Theriot said the 20-year old lodge, which included the restaurant, is completely destroyed, including the log-beam ceiling, fireplace and various art pieces. He admitted that it was too early to tell the total cost of the damage.
Despite the tragedy, Theriot said he was thankful that other parts of the property were unharmed, including bronze art in the courtyard and the multi-level stage.
In addition to the restaurant, the Oasis serves as a venue for larger events such as weddings, live music and salsa dancing.
"This is just a devastating event for the Austin music scene," said Vicky Moerbe, manager of W.C. Clark, a blues band that often plays at the Oasis. She said the venue is one of the few places in Austin where whole families could enjoy dancing together.
Theriot bought his first restaurant in Houston at age 26. He decided to build the Oasis after buying a weekend home on Lake Travis in 1979 and concluding that the location would be a good place for a restaurant.
Despite Wednesday's tragedy, Theriot said he hopes to have one of the undamaged areas, known as the "Starlight Terrace," reopened by Friday afternoon for "drinks, appetizers and live music."
He conceded, however, that only about a third of the usual capacity of 2,000 people would be available by then.
"It breaks your heart when you see something you've worked on and tried to build on for 24 years, but I've never had a tragedy like this happen, and I know that other people face much tougher tragedies in their life, so I can handle it," Theriot said.
When asked whether he had plans to rebuild, Theriot replied, "Oh you bet - tomorrow."
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