Cause of $7 million fire at a popular St. Catharines winery remains known

The blaze at Hernder Estate Winery in St. Catharines over the weekend was so devastating that investigators say they will never know for sure how it was caused. The fire chief says the damage is in the $7 million dollar range, and the debris left behind doesn’t point to any definitive answers.

Hernder Estates Winery went up in flames on Saturday night and the banquet hall and retail store were completely engulfed.

It took crews until Sunday afternoon to put out the hotspots. St. Catharines fire chief Dave Upper says photos of the destruction were sent to the Ontario fire marshal but it was decided provincial investigators would not check it out themselves. Because the damage was so extensive, a cause will likely never be known for certain.

Chief Upper says the investigation is complete and the cause has been marked as unknown, adding that it doesn’t appear to be suspicious.

Neighbouring wineries say the fire has impacted so many people. 34 small, local businesses had set up at the winery for a ‘Moms Market’ this weekend and the blaze destroyed the vendors’ work, affecting their livelihoods. A Go-Fund-Me page has already raised over 35 thousand dollars for the vendors.

St. Catharines fire says the blaze caused 7 million dollars worth of damage.