Smithville Plaza Fire Destroys 5 Businesses

0:00It's March 31st. You're listening to Kansas News today, AI-powered local news. A massive fire tore through Smithville Plaza Strip Mall Monday afternoon, wiping out five businesses near U.S. 169 and West Main Street. It kicked off around 2 p.m. in the kitchen walk at West Lake Chinese Restaurant, turning the whole spot into a total loss, including Smithville's, say, Pizza Shop A, La Fuente Mexican Restaurant, H&R Block, and Lakeside Smoke. King Wins fan the flames fast once they broke through the roof, and an open back door pushed the blaze right through the building to the other, shops. No one got hurt. The one firefighter took a hit from falling debris, but got clear to keep going. Folks in town rallied quick, showing love to the restaurant families the next day, while crews shut down part of the highway both ways for a bit. Chief Dave Klein figures the building alone was worth at least $2 million in damage, and they even knocked out spot fires in a dumpster.

1:00Nearby grass downwind. Firefighters wrapped up just before 10 p.m. that night, leaving the community to rebuild from the ashes as support keeps pouring in.