COVINGTON, Ga. — A Georgia town known for its picturesque main streets and square is now beginning to sort through the ashes left behind after a fire completely gutted several businesses late Friday night.
Town leaders said this fire is expected to have wide-ranging impacts on the city's tourism industry.
Many of the buildings in Downtown Covington have been there for centuries.
On Saturday, the community was analyzing the loss left in the wake of a fire that ripped through – damaging at least four businesses.
“I’m just devastated. I’m saddened and sorrowed because I put my life into it. That was my life. I just loved my store," said store owner Judy Hernandez.
Hernandez owns and operates Shelvie Jean Boutique.
Seeing that her business is a total loss is life-altering for her.
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Blaze strikes historic Covington Square during 'Remember the Titans' movie night
“I named the store after my mother Shelvie Jean. She died of ALS 10 years ago. I opened up and I have all her antiques and everything from her home and I used them as my tables and props," said a teary-eyed Hernandez.
Hernandez’ shop is open late on Fridays and Saturdays because thousands of people come downtown to work and shop.
When she left for the night she said everything was fine.
But calls from people in the downtown square watching a movie started calling 911 about the fire around 10 p.m.
Officials said four businesses were lost in the blaze.
It's something that could really hurt the local economy, which draws in almost 700,000 tourists each year.
“They visit our downtown area and they enjoy shopping and eating here. We lost a little piece of that last night," said Ken Malcom.
Crews from DeKalb County and Atlanta Fire pitched in to help put out the fire.
The effort took several hours.
Officials are still working to determine exactly what sparked the blaze.