Fire Destroys Beloved Fort Diablo

Restaurant catches fire Sunday morning while customers enjoying Tate’s homestyle breakfasts

Fort Diablo owner Kevin Tate was in the restaurant’s kitchen Sunday morning, cooking breakfast for about 15-20 of his patrons when one of the customers rushed in.

He said the building was on fire.

It was near 9 a.m. March 1, and the Sunday crowd was in full swing.

“(The person) said there was smoke coming through the ceiling. I came out of the kitchen, I saw the smoke. I told everybody to leave,” Tate said Tuesday morning.

He said you could see flames coming out of where the neon sign was. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and attempted to put the fire out, without success.

“I got the flames out that I saw, but I guess (the fire) had already moved. Something in the ceiling was definitely burning. Then the fire department started coming in and then . . . it just . . . went up in flames,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. 

 Tate said the Fort Diablo building was “totally toast.”

“The ceiling collapsed into (itself). It’s done.”

Luckily, no one was injured and employees and patrons evacuated without incident.

The Fort was one of Glenrock’s favorite places to eat out and celebrate life. 

Tate had only purchased the building – originally built in  1967 – about three years ago. He spent last year putting more money into the space. He said he was trying to upgrade the business.

Prior to owning the Fort, Tate had the Shoreliner for nearly three and a half decades. He sold it so that he could buy Fort Diablo, as he wanted to try running a restaurant, he said – and Glenrock needed the Fort to be open, not just because the town is limited when it comes to places to eat, but because of the generations of memories created within its walls.

Losing the Fort has hit Tate hard. As each day goes by, he feels the loss even more deeply.

“After I saw how bad it was going to be . . . it kind of . . . got a little emotional there. It’s a hopeless feeling. There’s not much you can do when you’re seeing it burn down. I’m thankful my family was there with me. It’s sad. I’m sorry for my employees; they have to go look for jobs now,” he said.

Tate confirmed he did not have the building insured. 

Times have been rough, he said. The insurance policy was one of the expenses he had to let go.

Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s Office Senior Investigator Chris McDonald said multiple investigators were on site conducting an investigation at Fort Diablo over two days.

The fire was ruled accidental.

 “After suppressing the fire, the Glenrock Fire Department contacted the Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s Fire Investigation Unit to assist with the origin and cause investigation. After an exhaustive and multi-day investigation which included multiple interviews and a scene examination, the fire was determined to be accidental in nature,” McDonald confirmed. “The Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s Office would like to thank the citizens whose quick actions on the morning of the fire led to a safe evacuation of the restaurant.”

While Tate doesn’t know exactly what his next step is, he wants the community to know he appreciates “all the support that they gave me, not only from there but through the Shoreliner, too.”

“There’s a lot of good people in Glenrock. I always just tried my best. I always did,” Tate said.

Tate’s granddaughter, Taylor Stalkup, has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Tate and the Fort.

Anyone interested in contributing can visit www.gofundme.com/f/support-kevin-tate-after-fort-diablo-fire?attribution...