OCEANA COUNTY, Mich. — A woodcarving gallery in Grant Township was destroyed after a fire Monday morning.
The Ellen St. James Woodcarving Gallery went up in flames during the early-morning inferno, which included an explosion. Also destroyed was a garage that contained some of those woodcarvings, reports the Oceana County Press.
Alice Artivee has been making woodcarvings for the past 14 years, but all of her work is destroyed now because of a fire Monday. Her nearby home suffered minor damage as well.
Oceana County Press photo.
The Woodcarving Gallery was located at 6976 S. 80th Avenue, across the street from the Double JJ Resort’s cabin area and campground, near the Village of Rothbury.
Fortunately, the building was insured. But Artivee tells the Oceana County Press she’s not sure yet whether she’ll open a new gallery, or even resume carving.
Meanwhile, investigators in Oceana County are trying to determine what caused the fire, which took four hours for firefighters from three departments to put out.
