RCMP are probing the cause of a fire that leveled a major business complex in the town of Twillingate yesterday, leaving business owners and residents reeling with the loss.

The fire broke out around 9:30 yesterday morning and caused some anxious moments for firefighters from the Twillingate and Summerford fire departments who battled to prevent the fire from spreading in high winds. Despite those efforts, the structure and all the businesses it contained were destroyed.

Mike McDonald of 618 Entertainment, a production studio based in Twillingate, says he was one of a number of businesses in the complex who lost everything. McDonald, who was on the water on a shoot when the fire broke out, says “My whole life’s work is gone in a matter of minutes”.

Twillingate recreation director and former mayor Grant White says at one point the blaze crossed the main road and spread to nearby woods and a greenhouse belonging to a local garden center. He says it put the town and firefighters on high alert because of the proximity of propane tanks and a nearby gas station.

White calls it a devastating blow to the town, but believes residents will rally together and rebuild.