Locals react to fire at The Boathouse in Cape Coral

A charred and splintered frame is what’s left of the Cape Coral Boat House Tiki Bar and Grille and authorities are not certain how it started.

While the cause of the fire is unknown, a Boathouse employee said she saw a fire spark from the backside of the building, below the deck.

Elaina Frkovic is that Boathouse employee. She shared a video showing how high those flames burned and how they lit up the night sky.

WINK News drone footage truly showcases the extent of the damage. The tiki hut roofs burnt to a crisp. The building is only a shell of what it was just hours before the fire.

• RELATED: The Boathouse Tiki Bar and Grill erupts into flames in Cape Coral

Diners Robert and Denise headed over for lunch on Friday and didn’t expect the sight they saw.

“We just came back down, this the first place we were going to come,” said Robert

Part of the boat house turned to ash.

A wooden frame standing on what looks like balance beam planks. The very sight is enough to make Robert sick.

“Sick. Yeah, I feel pretty owners. It’s not right, but we can’t,” said Robert. “Our kids would come down. We’d bring them here. They loved it.”

The winds, Cape Fire believes, helped spread the flames with the fire lighting up the night sky.

“Last night it was equally as windy. So that really helped move the fire to other parts of the restaurant,” said Andrea Schuch.

It took four hours to fight the fire at the restaurant that had reopened Thursday following Hurricane Milton.

Andrea Schuch with Cape Coral Fire told WINK News that the building’s materials likely contributed to the fire’s rapid spread.

“The damage is pretty much building-wide. So the roof, as you can see, because of the type of material there was, it did burn away,” said Schuch. “There’s parts of the structure that are still standing, whether or not they are able to be accessed is unlikely. It would be structurally unsound.”

There have been no reports of anyone being hurt Thursday night.

A man named Bobby was there having lunch just yesterday.

He said that when he got to the beach Friday, he assumed that the roof had been quickly taken down to be replaced.

When Bobby saw a video of The Boathouse in a blaze, he said he was in shock and heartbroken.

“I was coming all week,” said Bobby. “They’re closed due to Hurricane Milton, and they told me they’d reopen Thursday. I went there yesterday for lunch. Had a fabulous lunch. Now I get to the beach, and you’re telling me that burnt down last night. I thought they were changing the straw roof on there. Shocking, shocking.”

The investigation has been completed and the building turned back to the owner.

The cause of the fire is unknown but authorities are not ruling out electrical.

No word yet on whether the owners plan to rebuild.