At 6 p.m., firefighters were called in because of thick black smoke billowing out of the storeroom door, on the Kelly Avenue side of the landmark Half Moon Bay building.
Less than half an hour later, the entire building - every room in the place - was filled to the rafters with flame.
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Fire engines were everywhere, lights flashing, water pumping. More than a dozen fire trucks and 85 emergency workers mobilized to fight the fire, but it quickly became clear that there was nothing to be done to save Cunha's.
"It's a sad day for the city," said farmer John Muller, standing on Main Street, arms folded, shaking and shaking his head. "It is just a sad day for this city. This was the heart and soul of this town."
WHAT HAPPENED
Everyone managed to get out of the building, apparently, and there were no serious accidents while fighting the fire. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it was most likely caused by roofers who were working to fix up the building, according to store employees, firefighters and fire officials.
"Now, I don't want to get some poor roofer in trouble," Fire Chief Jim Asche said. "I don't want to say that's it, and then find out later it was something else. The investigator still has to decide. But it appears, right now, that's most likely what happened."
It's a charming old building, Asche said, and that charm comes with a price.
"It's an old building - lots of wood, multiple ceilings, lots of nooks and crannies, no sprinkler system - so once it got hold in there, it was so hot in there, there was no way we could go in."
FIRST ON THE SCENE
Just before 6 p.m., Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District's Engine Number 41 was at the scene of a car accident on Highway 1, just south of Kelly. That's just a few blocks away from Cunha's, so that fire crew responded almost instantaneously.
But instantaneously wasn't fast enough.
"When we drove up, I knew we had our hands full," firefighter Tony Naples said.
Naples has been in the department for 13 years; he was on the scene of the infamous Beach House Inn fire near El Granada a decade ago. But this one was different, he said.
"It's always sad to see a town landmark go down. Bev's always supported the fire department, she's been real good about that, and I've known her for a long time.
"It's just awful."
Naples and two other firefighters hooked up a hose and headed for the black smoke at that storage room door.
"We laid in a hose line, and made an attack with a two-and-a-half inch (hose line).
Firefighter Chris Cushman and Captain Ari Delay sprayed the hose in front of them and tried to advance through the smoke.
"We made an interior run," Cushman said. "I went in about 25 feet and tried to go up the stairs.
"But I could hear the debris falling in from up above, and there were flames rolling out the door. The smoke was so thick everywhere, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.
"We stayed for about 10 minutes, trying to work our way up the stairwell. But we couldn't. That's when they made the call for everyone to get out."
Chief Asche said that, for a brief moment, it looked as if the fire crew was going to be able to reach the heart of the fire and douse it. But that moment was illusory.
"Fire just went up everywhere," Asche said. "Normally when you pull them out, the crew will fight and say, 'No, just let me in for a minute and I'll get it.' But this time, they all agreed."
CUNHA'S COUNTRY INSTITUTION
Bev Cunha Ashcraft has been working at Cunha's for more than 60 years.
Her mother and father, Bill and Joya Cunha, opened the store in a different location, across the street, more than 75 years ago as a saloon and farm equipment business. It moved to its present spot in 1923.
It's a family business, and its family, small-town feeling was one of the reasons it was such a magnet for Coastsiders.
Children from the nearby Cunha Intermediate School overrun the place every weekday at 3 p.m., when school lets out. High school students, downtown workers, out-of-towners - everyone, it seemed, shopped at Cunha's.
Among the spectators watching the fire, there was a grim disbelief, and dozens of them openly wept.
"It's so hard to believe," said employee Liliete Alves, crying and looking around for others who worked at Cunha's. "I can't believe it. It was my first real job, and everyone was so nice, so good.
"It's so sad," she said, over and over again, almost to herself. "So sad. So sad."
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