J.J.’s Wine Bar near the Plaza engulfed in flames (photos)

It’s being widely reported tonight that J.J.’s Wine Bar on the County Club Plaza became engulfed in flames after a gas explosion. I was walking out of the Marsh’s Sun Fresh grocery store at the intersection of Mill Street and Southwest Trafficway about half an hour ago and saw huge plumes of smoke looking south from the parking lot. I left the parking lot and turned left on Southwest Trafficway, heading toward the fire. An ambulance, firetruck and squad car squeezed through the traffic I was caught in.

I’ve heard about a half-dozen more speed down Southwest Trafficway in the last 10 minutes. Police were directing traffic the wrong way through the Plaza to clear the area. KCTV Channel 5 just reported that the bar has entirely burned down. There are a couple of more photos after the jump.