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Paul’s fire still being probed

So far, investigators haven’t been able to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed Paul’s Resort on Verano Avenue last Thursday morning.

Division Chief Spencer Andreis, with the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority, said tests are still being conducted on some of the rubble. But at this point, officials are still considering the source suspicious.

Andreis said that the lead investigator is off until Wednesday, but he hopes that fire officials could have some answers by then.

Both the electricity and gas were connected to the 105-year-old building when it went up in flames. The fire started in the front of the long-vacant building and spread when it reached the attic.

Fire investigators spent most of Thursday sifting through the debris at the 10,000-square-foot structure.

“We know where it started, we just don’t know how,” Andreis said last week.

Thirty-two firefighters from Sonoma Valley, Schell-Vista and Glen Ellen fought the blaze that was reported shortly after 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The fire was declared under control shortly before 6 a.m. and crews were on scene mopping up until about 11:40 that morning.

The building was originally owned by Paul Vannucchi, who ran it until he died in the 1940s. It was then purchased by Paul Marcucci, who ran it until he died in 1981, and it is still owned by Marcucci’s daughter, Yvonne Thibault.

The old dance hall, restaurant and bar has been closed for many years, but Roland Thibault, Yvonne’s husband, did some interior renovation of the old dance hall last fall and held a surprise party for his wife and many old family friends there last month.