CRYSTAL SPRINGS, Miss. - Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged at least four downtown buildings in Crystal Springs.


The fire was reported about 1 a.m. Monday. No injuries were reported.

Authorities said the fire started in a building that included a framing shop, a restaurant, an alteration business and the city's Masonic lodge, all of which were completely consumed.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens is master of the lodge and said the fire consumed more than a building.

"We had a picture of about every mason who had been master of that lodge since 1927," he said.

Kitchens said the lodge also had nearly a century of records and the Masonic tools used in lodge rituals.

"We didn't have any insurance," Kitchens said. "Couldn't afford it."

The fire gutted William Roberts' building as well, taking out two apartments on the second story. Roberts operated the Trinity Cafe on the ground floor of his building for 26 years before closing it in August 2007.

Mayor Arthur Evans said the buildings destroyed by the fire is a loss of the city.

"My heart goes out to all the property owners and those who lost their dwellings," he said.

The fire knocked out power to a section of town, including Crystal Springs High School. Copiah County school officials canceled classes for the day for all the schools in the city.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.