Updated: Fri Nov. 30 2007 6:02:11 PM

toronto.ctv.ca

A massive blaze with flames reaching as high as 15 metres has destroyed up to 70 per cent of the businesses along the main strip of the popular resort community of Wasaga Beach, Ont.

At least eight buildings, which housed a dozen businesses, went up in flames shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Friday in the cottage country region, located about 150 kilometres north of Toronto.

Local business owner Beverly Wood told CTV Newsnet the summer hub in Wasaga has been "decimated."

"I was down there this morning looking at it first-hand and there is nothing left," Wood said on Friday.

Some 80 firefighters from six area fire departments battled the blaze, which authorities are calling the largest in recent memory. Crews were still putting out hotspots on Friday afternoon.

OPP Const. Mark Kinney said strong winds off Georgian Bay caused the fire to spread quickly.

"It fanned the fire more and more, and realistically, some of the flames I judged were close to 30 feet," he said.

Kinney said it was fortunate the businesses were seasonal, and nobody was inside them at the time.

The area's main pedestrian mall, which is connected to a beach area of a provincial park, has been levelled. Many of the affected buildings are old, with some dating back to the 1950s.

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but sources tell CTV News it may have been deliberately set as a man was spotted near the area late Thursday night.

'It's never, never going to be the same'

While residents and storeowners were glad no one was hurt, they are devastated.

"It's sad, it's gone, it's lost, and part of the history of this part of the world is gone and it's been a big part of our lives," said Bill Chadwick, who owns one of the clothing stores.

"It's not only us, it's all the people around us that lost their livelihood," said Chadwick's wife Huguette. "And I don't know how you rebuild, I really don't know. It's never, never going to be the same."

Mayor Cal Patterson said the pedestrian area had undergone a facelift over the last two years, and the mall was going to be redesigned with a New Orleans theme over the next few years.

"It was tired, but it's our history," Patterson said. "Recently I had some people from the Maritimes come over and they drove across the bridge and they said it's like driving into the '40s and '50s -- but that's Wasaga Beach."

Long-time resident Ted Saunders described the pedestrian shopping area as "peachy."

"I think it's a shame. I think it was so nice the way it was," Saunders said. "I think with the reconstruction that they're planning on doing, I don't think it's going to be as nice."

Wasaga Beach is one of the fastest growing communities in Ontario and boasts panoramic mountain views and 14 kilometres of white-sand beach along the southern shore of Georgian Bay.

The community is home to 17,000 full-time residents and 16,000 seasonal and part-time residents.

With a report from CTV's John Musselman