Firefighters save Oceanside Pier after flames erupt out of vacant restaurant

Crews scrambled to extinguish a fire at the historic Oceanside Pier.

The fire started at about 3:15 p.m. inside a vacant restaurant named Ruby's Diner, according to city officials. They asked residents and tourists to avoid the area.

Firefighters arrived about five minutes after the first call. Crews battled the flames for nearly three hours and contained them to the pier's hammerhead. They said the vacant restaurant and a neighboring brine box sustained significant damage.

The United States Coast Guard joined the Oceanside Fire Department's effort to save the nearly 140-year-old pier, according to KFMB a CBS News affiliate. 

The cause of the fire remains unclear. No injuries were reported as of Thursday afternoon.