A GoFundMe relief effort has been launched for the owners of a North Highlands barbecue restaurant heavily damaged by fire early Thursday.
Metro Fire firefighters battled the 2:30 a.m. blaze that gutted Bear West BBQ & Soul Food in the 5900 block of Watt Avenue. Investigators are trying to determine the fire’s cause, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials said in a Friday update, as Bear West’s owners look to rebuild.
Bear West’s owners in the online appeal said their eatery had been repeatedly targeted by vandals in the days leading to the fire, stopping short of saying the early Thursday fire was deliberately set…