Bakersfield, Kern County, CA: Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 17, a structure fire was reported at the location of the old historic Trouts honky-tonk bar known for the “Bakersfield sound” and countless number of live music performances throughout the years on North Chester Avenue in the city of Bakersfield.

Kern County Fire Department responded to the location and found heavy flames coming from inside the structure. KCFD took on a defensive fire attack to protect surrounding buildings as the structure of the historic bar burned. There was a structural collapse while firefighters were on the scene. No injuries were reported at the time.

The building has been under construction for the last two or three months, said Joe Appleton, Fire Division Chief with the Kern County Fire Department interviewed at the scene by Key News Network. The building was reportedly sold in 2018 to Kern Medical Properties, LLC, according to Bakersfield.com.

The north and south lanes of the 800 block of North Chester were shut down for approximately 2-3 more hours and the same for the 100 block of Decatur east and west lanes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.