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Asten Smith/The Daily Item
Campus Theatre is down, but not out
LEWISBURG -- Just a day after a fire caused by flooding sent 30 movie-goers fleeing, the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg remained closed Monday. But the sign on the marquee summed up the spirit of the theater's operators: "Down, Not Out."
Campus employees were busy Monday doing what they could, said Campus Theatre board member Jenni Stieler.
Operations at the theatre -- operated as a non-profit organization under a board of directors -- are at a standstill until they can begin to clean up the basement level. The insurance company has not given the theater clearance to clean up the basement and officials are waiting to determine exactly what caused the flooding in the first place.
"Before we start to do the electrical repairs, we want to be sure that we know there's not going to be anymore water at some other point," Stieler said. For that reason, the electricity remains off at the theatre, halting one of the busiest times of the year.
"During our busy season, our big summer movie season -- it's really, really unfortunate," Stieler said. A dollar estimate in damages has not been determined but Stieler said she is expecting to hear from the insurance company as early as today or possibly later in the week.
"We're just cleaning. Our staff is just cleaning the main theatre and we're not touching the basement until the damage has been assessed."
The incident occurred just before the start of the 5 o'clock showtime. "There was some water in the basement that was not dissipating," Stieler said. "So they (theatre staff) evacuated the theatre.
Theater employees than determined that there was 4 feet of water in the basement that caused the electrical fire. The Campus refunded about 35 tickets. The electrical fire was sparked when the water hit an electrical plate in the basement. The fire then traveled up the wiring in the floor but the damage was mostly contained to the basement of the theatre, she said. Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire and left the scene at 10:30 p.m. as theatre employees continued to pump the last few inches of water from the basement floor. Damage was contained to the basement area, located just below the lobby to the theatre. An insurance adjuster was on scene Monday to determine the extent of the damage caused from both the flooding and fire.
The theatre was built in 1941 and has remained to be a beloved social spot in the community. "Everybody cares so much about the Campus Theatre that we want people to at least know that it's not devastating. Like I said, it didn't affect the inside of the main theatre," Stieler said.
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