The old Oakville Hardware store at 105 E. Pine St. in Oakville was destroyed by a fire the night of July Fourth and fireworks may have been the cause.

Grays Harbor Fire District 1 Chief Bill Rodocker said a structure fire call was received at about 10 p.m. The hardware store was fully involved in flames when firefighters got there, as was the single residence to the east of the hardware store and the old Oakville liquor store to the west. All three structures were empty and completely destroyed.

The hardware store was built in the 1800s and the other two structures were aged as well.

“All three buildings were very old and tinder-dry,” Rodocker said.

Responders were just getting back from the scene on Wednesday morning, with two trucks remaining at the fire’s location to address hot spots.

“We probably had a wrap on it at about 7:30 or 7:45 this morning,” Rodocker continued.

With nothing else to go on other than an eye witness testimony, Rodocker said that as of now it appears fireworks are to blame for the fire.

“I had a witness come up to me this morning and say they were watching fireworks and that someone had shot a bottle rocket onto the roof of one of the buildings,” he said.

The blaze is believed to have started at the hardware store. Rodocker said the bottle rocket ignited the roof and the blaze then spread to the buildings directly to the east and west.

Fire districts 1 and 5, Riverside Fire Authority of Centralia and the West Thurston County Fire Department all assisted in putting out the fire.