MULLICA TOWNSHIP – Fire officials are thankful “the fire nobody ever wanted to fight” that claimed the Sweetwater Casino on Monday morning wasn’t any worse.

The 81-year-old restaurant was destroyed Monday, June 30 by a fire that officials suspect was caused by a lightning strike from a violent thunderstorm that passed through the area hours earlier.

Firefighters from more than 14 departments from Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties contained fire damage to only the 13,000-square-foot facility and saved a nearby marina and homes in the surrounding neighborhood.

Photos by Ed Stewart