Two-alarm fire damages downtown Alley Theatre

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Traffic is returning in downtown Houston around the Alley Theatre, evacuated late Thursday morning for a two-alarm fire.

The iconic venue was closed earlier this year for renovation. Around 11am, construction crews noticed the smell of something burning. There was also a slim plume of smoke coming from the theatre roof. Workers evacuated without incident, as some 100 firefighters moved in.

The problem area was ductwork on the upper floor. "When crews started pulling away the duct work, they saw it was the insulation that was burning," said Houston Fire Department spokesperson Kenatta Parker.

The Alley's managing director said there was welding underway on the roof when the smoke began, and theorized that may have been what started it. The building was already stripped down to beams and concrete in preparation for the renovation.

The theatre already relocated its fall season shows to the University of Houston main campus, as some $46 million of improvements are made to the concrete building that opened in 1968. The Alley's first home was a former dance studio in downtown Houston.

The Alley is now said to be one of the three oldest resident theatres in the country.

The theatre is scheduled to return to its renovated home in one year. This fire isn't expected to change that.