A fire early Tuesday heavily damaged the exterior of the Lunds & Byerlys grocery store in downtown St. Paul.
Video posted on social media showed flames shooting out of the entrance of the store at E. 10th and Robert streets and debris raining down on adjacent sidewalks.
Sprinklers were working at the time of the fire, which led to water damage inside the store, according to Aaron Sorenson, a spokesman for the upscale grocery chain.
"The store will be temporarily closed until further notice as we work to repair the damage," he said.
A St. Paul police officer noticed a fire in several trash bins on the south side of the store about 2 a.m., police spokesman Steve Linders said.
The fire had engulfed the trash cans, making it unsafe for the officer to get close enough to use a fire extinguisher, Linders said.
"The officer could feel the heat from the dancing flames all the way out in the street," he said.
About the same time, fire crews were returning to a station after handling a different call when they noticed smoke in the 100 block of 10th Street. That is when they found the store burning, said Roy Mokosso, a St. Paul Fire Department spokesman.
