The fire was extinguished in just 15 minutes and Utica firefighters are pretty sure it was electrical. After all, a nearby power pole was felled just two hours before the fire.

Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown said Thursday that the Starved Rock House of Jerky was not a total loss (damage estimate: $50,000) and should reopen “sooner than later.”

The store, located in the strip mall south of downtown (across from the car wash) was unoccupied. There were no injuries.

“The fire was contained up into the parapet wall area,” Brown said. “It didn’t make its way into the business itself. So the damage is all up in the facade.”

The full cause has yet to be determined, but Brown noted a truck, around 10 a.m. Thursday, caught some overhead power lines and knocked down a light pole just feet from the store. There is an evident connection between the two events.

Firefighters were summoned at 11:57 a.m. Thursday and were swiftly joined by Oglesby, La Salle, Tonica and Wallace fire companies.

Brown acknowledged there was some initial but brief skepticism about whether there was a fire or whether proprietors were smoking jerky.