By Michael J. ARVIZU

Residents of Sunland and Tujunga this week are lamenting the closure of the Backdoor Bakery Cafe, a popular eatery among locals gutted in an early morning fire on Sunday.

No injuries were reported. About 55 Los Angeles Fire Dept. firefighters responded to the blaze, called in at about 4 a.m., said LAFD spokeswoman Katherine Main. The fire was confined to the single story structure and was knocked out in about 30 minutes, Main said.

High winds of up to 25 miles per hour and powerful gusts were blowing through the area at the time of the fire. According to witnesses at the scene, the blaze reignited at about 9 a.m. but was put out quickly.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Since Sunday’s fire, Backdoor Bakery Cafe owners Deborah Rosen Goodale and her husband Reno Goodale, have received unbridled support from the community, particularly on social media, with messages of encouragement and support.

“The Backdoor Bakery has a very special place in the community,” said Mari Fukuyama on Facebook. “Hope you are up and running soon.”

Efforts to reach the Goodales for comment were unsuccessful as of Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, the Goodales have taken to social media to publicly express their gratitude.

“This has been a heckuva day,” the owners wrote on the Backdoor Bakery and Cafe’s Facebook page on Sunday. “I cannot even adequately express how touched we have been by the support of our community and our friends and customers. We plan to rebuild.”

The Backdoor Bakery and Cafe can trace its origins to 1989 in Silver Lake, where it operated until January 2008. The Goodales took a respite until 2011 when the couple settled on Sunland for their new location in a small shopping center on Foothill Boulevard. They opened on June 17 of that year.

The restaurant recently relocated to a bigger location, 8658 Foothill Blvd. in Sunland, a few blocks down the street. On Sunday, the café was planning to offer a Mother’s Day special and live acoustic music for its dine-in guests, according to the cafe’s Twitter page.

  Michael J ARVIZU