Fire damages Bouchon Bakery in Yountville

<p>Bouchon Bakery, one of several Yountville eateries owned by Thomas Keller of The French Laundry fame, incurred about $250,000 in damage as a result of a fire that started near a huge commercial oven early Thursday morning, fire officials said.</p><p>The oven, which measures about 6-by-10-feet and is encased in sheet metal, was damaged in the 5:22 a.m. blaze but was actually incidental to the cause, Napa County Fire Marshal Pete Muñoa said. </p><p>Investigators are looking into an undisclosed electrical device adjacent to the oven as a possible origin, Muñoa said. It appears to have ignited combustible materials in the vicinity, including structural members of the building, he said. </p><p>He said firefighters confined the blaze to the oven area, making “a good stop” when they got to the fire on Washington Street, adjacent to Keller's Bouchon Bistro and a few hundred feet down the block from The French Laundry, considered one of the world's finest restaurants. </p><p>“It would have been much worse,” Muñoa said. “But there's significant rehab because the oven's from Italy and needs to be repaired.”</p><p>Keller's restaurants in Yountville include Ad Hoc, also on Washington Street. </p><p>It wasn't clear how soon the bakery might be reopened, a decision that would be contingent, in part, on a county health department assessment, Muñoa said.</p><p>Washington Street was closed between Humboldt and Yount streets for several hours on Thursday morning but has reopened, the Napa County Sheriff's Office said.</p>