By Robert Gundran | AZCentral
The Mining Camp Restaurant had been a part of Vinton Fugate’s life for the better part of 56 years.
“This restaurant was built in 1961, when I was 13,” he recalled, between puffs from a wood-tipped cigar. “I started as a dishwasher.”
Fugate became part-owner of the restaurant in the ’80s and sole owner soon after.
All that would change early Tuesday morning, when his Mining Camp Restaurant caught fire.
“The lights of the fire truck woke us up. I thought it was a mountain rescue,” said Fugate’s wife, Deborah.
