The former Thane Ore House restaurant will burn this weekend as part of a training exercise for local firefighters.
The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska plans to build a $7 million cultural immersion park on the site. It’s been waiting for clearance to burn it down since discovering the interior was uninhabitable last year.
The restaurant was shuttered in 2012 after the owners were evicted for not paying city sales tax. The Juneau Assembly approved the 1.2-acre lease to the tribe in 2016.
Capital City Fire/Rescue hopes to start the controlled burn at 10 a.m. on Saturday and finish by 4 p.m.
According to a Facebook post, they not plan to close Thane Road during the burn, but ask that drivers use caution when passing through the area.
Clean up will be left to the tribe. A staff member could not be reached for comment about updates on plans for the immersion park.