Basque is burning! Not the region bordering Spain and France—far worse! The nightclub at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. From the ABC7 report:

The building houses Basque Nightclub and Restaurant, but it was not open at the time and no one is said to have been inside. Towering 40-foot flames shot through the roof of Basque Nightclub and smoke could be seen and smelled for miles.

The greater alarm fire started just before 5:30 a.m. and quickly spread to other businesses inside the building.

More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze, which was knocked down just before 8 a.m. Crews made an aggressive attack on the fire, using aerial ladders to pour water on the flames from above.

In addition to the TV report above, introduced by a too-perky-by-half anchor (this is Basque we're talking about! Where Lindsay Lohan had a premiere night she'll never forget! At least pretend to show some grief), here's some amateur footage on YouTube that shows just how close the smoke and flames came to the Capitol Records building. We urge everyone to climb atop a wobbly V.I.P. table at Les Deux tonight and toast a glass of Perrier-Jouet to the fallen social institution.