AGOURA HILLS, Calif. – One look at the massive structure outside The Old Place and it is evident what happened here.

“It’s almost a piece of art, you know, made by the fire," said Morgan Runyon, owner of The Old Place.  

Runyon's parents opened the restaurant in 1970, but the building dates back even further, to somewhere around 1908.

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“So we’re basically a matchbox," Runyon said.

But that doesn’t mean he was about to let it burn. When the Woolsey Fire erupted, he and a friend stayed behind and fought it.

"At times when the trees would go up across the street, there were 50-foot flames," Runyon said. "But we were fortunate to be able to be here and kind of save the restaurant and some of the adjoining homes.”

Lots of structures in the area did burn, including the bridge just a few yards from the property.  For a while, the burnt wreckage remained, and Runyon would look up at the beams as he crossed the creek on foot.  That is when he saw it.

“A giant 14 inch beam that’s twisted like a like a hot pasta noodle," Runyon said. "And it had such amazing graphic detail that I wanted to kind of have a monument to what we went through and also a reminder for future generations that these fires are a new norm.”  

Getting the beam from the creek to his parking lot took some doing and not just because it weighs more than 6,000 pounds. He needed permission, so he invited county officials to tour the restaurant, which more than a century ago was the site of Hank’s General Store and Cornell Post Office.

“Kind of showed them inside and was like ‘Hey, we serve history here,'" Runyon said. "This fire is a huge part of our history and there a piece of the bridge that I’d like to take and put up here.”

And so, there it stands, resilient, like Runyon. The fire and road closures that followed took a toll on the business, but things are picking up again and he is looking forward to a future at the restaurant that is as rich as its past.

“My dad did a 40-year stint here and so I hope to do a 40 year stint," he said.

Who knows, maybe his kids after him will carry on the legacy, preserving the history, and reminding the community they are as strong as the steel beam in the parking lot.

“Most people see it and actually immediately can figure out what it is," Runyon said, adding, "and if not we’re happy to tell the story.”