PASADENA, Texas -- Several firefighters suffered smoke inhalation battling a massive blaze Thursday at Gilley's, the defunct honky-tonk that served as the backdrop for the movie 'Urban Cowboy.'
Firefighters had the blaze under control by early evening and hoped to extinguish the flames before morning. 'They're still fighting small fires,' Pasadena fire dispatcher J.D. Bordelon said. 'They ought to have it out pretty soon.'
Firefighters from Pasadena, Deer Park, and other Houston-area communities were on the scene of the three-alarm fire, said Roseann Boynton, a spokeswoman in the Pasadena police department.
'All of our units are on the scene, and Pasadena firefighters and others are continuing to battle the blaze,' said Boynton.
She said arson investigators were also at the blaze, which began about 2:45 p.m.
Nine firefighters were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, and one firefighter was treated for lacerations, said a spokeswoman in the Pasadena fire department. None required hospitalization.
The fire burned fiercely in the all-wood structure, reaching the rodeo arena and recording studio and preventing firefighters from entering the building, which is spread out over 140,000 square feet.
Gilley's was shut down almost two years ago after a lengthy court battle between the owners -- country western singer Mickey Gilley and businessman Sherwood Cryer.
In August a judge ruled Gilley could try to satisfy a nearly $20 million judgment against Cryer by claiming 25 properties owned by Cryer in Texas and Tennessee.
State District Judge David West denied a request by Cryer to prohibit Gilley from taking over the holdings, which included Gilley's. Gilley won the judgment in 1988, when a jury found Cryer had siphoned off large amounts of cash from businesses owned by the two men.
Cryer said he drove by Gilley's Thursday afternoon to view the damage. 'I went by to take a look, and it looks pretty bad,' said Cryer.
'I would have stayed longer, but the police ran me out of there. Even though Gilley's is in my name, Mickey Gilley and his lawyer have control of it,' said Cryer. 'Heck, they've told me in the past that they would rather Gilley's burn down before I would get ahold of it.'
Gilley could not be reached for comment.
Gilley's, with its mechanical bull and massive dance floor, was the backdrop for the 1980 movie 'Urban Cowboy,' featuring Debra Winger and John Travolta. Before its demise, Gilley's was billed as the 'largest honkytonk in the world.'
