A Saturday afternoon fire destroyed Big Al’s Firehouse Grill in Powell Butte, but owner Allan Edwards said he’ll be back.

“It’s gone. It’s destroyed. But my intention is to get it going again,” Edwards said.

Crook County Fire and Rescue received a call around 4:10 p.m. Saturday from the occupants of a nearby produce stand, who reported the fire at Big Al’s, a trailer barbecue stand located on the corner of Southwest Williams Road and U.S. Highway 126 in Powell Butte.

According to a news release, the Powell Butte substation sent a water tender and a firetruck to the barbecue stand, and Crook County Fire and Rescue sent a firetruck and six firefighters.

Upon arrival, the barbecue stand was fully engulfed in flames, and the fire had grown so hot that it broke out the windows of the trailer.

The trailer was a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Edwards, a retired firefighter and paramedic who opened the restaurant in 2011, said it’s hard to be sure what caused the fire. He thinks it could have started with faulty electrical wiring and said the fire marshal suggested it might have been caused by grease in the filters above the stove.

According to the release, the owners had left between one and two hours before the fire. There were no injuries in the blaze.

Edwards said he was most disappointed by the loss of the firefighters’ signatures he’d collected on the trailer.

And it won’t be easy to come back from the fire: Edwards said his insurance was canceled last year after a break-in.

Big Al’s was preparing to move to the new food cart pod in northwest Bend. Construction is currently underway on an outdoor dining area and food cart pod on a small lot at the intersection of Northwest Columbia Street and Hartford Avenue. The pod is expected to open in August.

According to a Facebook posting, Edwards had planned to complement his barbecue stand with a beer garden grouped with several other carts.

Now he’s looking for a way to get a new barbecue stand up and running. But no matter what, he said, he’ll still conduct his annual fundraiser in honor of fallen firefighters, which he runs each year in honor of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We’re going to get this done,” Edwards said. “When doors are slammed in your face, another door opens up.”

Edwards’ daughter Abby Edwards plans to set up a fundraising account through Wells Fargo this week. In the meantime, she said anyone interested in helping bring back Big Al’s Firehouse Grill can contact her at abby_kate23@yahoo.com.