Fire destroys tourist attraction in Bouctouche, N.B.

Fire has destroyed a restaurant and popular tourist attraction in southeastern New Brunswick.

The blaze at Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche, N.B., was reported before 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Jean Noel Allain of the Bouctouche Fire Department said the wooden structure was fully engulfed when crews arrived at the scene and all the firefighters could do was protect surrounding buildings.

"Everything around was saved and you got to work hard but you got to be lucky also, getting there in time," Allain told CBC News on Thursday. "The rest of it is still standing," he said.

Allain said fire departments from the communities of Cocagne and St. Antoine, N.B., also helped battle the blaze.

No one was injured.

Paul LeBlanc, general manager of La Pays de la Sagouine, said damages to the tourist attraction, which was insured, is estimated at $2 million.

LeBlanc said the restaurant, l'Ordre de Bon Temps, was home to the annual Christmas dinner theatre. 

He couldn't say if the scheduled dinner shows, for which 85 per cent of tickets had been sold, will be able to go ahead.

Investigators called the fire suspicious and were at the scene Thursday, trying to determine the cause of the blaze.