ABANDONED BAR CATCHES FIRE, IS DEMOLISHED,

In separate fire in Gwinnett, radio station damaged.

A vacant sports bar in Clayton County caught fire and heavy smoke backed up traffic for a few hours Tuesday morning.

Motorists were advised to avoid Tara Boulevard, where a fire broke out about 9 a.m. at Level 2 Bar and Grill, near Mount Zion Road in the 6500 block of Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Northbound lanes of Tara Boulevard were shut down until about 10:45 a.m. as crews put out the fire.

There were no injuries reported, the Clayton County fire chief told Channel 2.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but investigators

are looking into whether someone was staying in the abandoned building.

The structure was demolished, Channel 2 reported.

In a separate incident

in Gwinnett County, a single-story structure that houses a Hispanic radio station sustained “extensive” damage from a fire, officials said.

Flames and smoke were reported at a modular building in the 200 block of Ezzard Street SE in Lawrenceville, spokesman Justin Wilson of Gwinnett Fire & Emergency Services said in a news release.

Firefighters were dispatched about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to the site of Hispanic radio station La Bonita AM 610 WPLO, Wilson said.

An employee turned on the heating unit after arriving at work, and after a couple of hours, the employee became aware of the fire as smoke alarms went off and the building smelled of smoke, according to Wilson.

The damage was confined to one side of the structure, including the exterior wall, Wilson said.

No injuries were reported. Investigators said the cause was a malfunctioning heating system attached to the exterior wall.

The effect on the station’s operations is not known.

CHANNEL 2 ACTION NEWS The vacant Level 2 Bar and Grill in Jonesboro has been demolished after a fire Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is unknown.