Fire destroys Canadian theater

JACKSON'S POINT, Ontario, April 19 (UPI) -- Canada's oldest professional summer theater was destroyed by fire, officials said Sunday.

The Toronto Star reported the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson's Point caught fire late Saturday night.

Fire crews could not save the theater's wooden structure. Parts of two walls were still standing but a silo was the only part that might be saved, the newspaper said.

Witnesses reported there might have been an explosion inside the building. The Barn, which was built in 1883, has been used as a theater since 1949.

"We're all sad," said Hugh Sibbald, whose family built the barn and owns the land it's on. "It was one of the things that brought prestige and awareness to this area."