Fundraiser set March 31 to assist Guthrie fire victims

Fiddle player Byron Berline kisses his prized 1923 Lloyd Loar Gibson mandolin after his store was destroyed by a fire Saturday, at his fiddle shop in Guthrie, Okla.

GUTHRIE, Okla. (AP) – Musicians and music enthusiasts are working to help a renowned fiddler and owner of a popular instrument shop after a weekend fire gutted the business in Guthrie.

The blaze destroyed Double Stop Fiddle Shop & Music Hall and the adjacent Furrow Flowers & Gifts on Saturday . Byron Berline, who has worked with Vince Gill, Bob Dylan and Elton John, owned both buildings and says the instruments lost had their own personalities and voices.

Guthrie Fire Chief Eric Harlow says a cause can’t be determined and estimated the damage at $3 million.

Both buildings were more than 100 years old. The fiddle shop had been open since the 1990s.

A fundraising concert is planned for March 31 at the Tower Theater in Oklahoma City.