Owner of Famous Sturgis Bar Says Full Throttle “Belonged to Everybody”

The owner of the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis says the fire that destroyed the popular biker bar was caused by an electrical cord.

Michael Ballard says the power cord became pinched by a keg cooler behind the bar.

It heated up and ignited a cardboard box.

Officials earlier ruled the September 8th blaze accidental but didn’t give an exact cause.

The loss is estimated at $10 million.

“People coming into here hanging motorcycles helmets on the walls that belonged to one of their brothers that got killed. Military people hanging medals on the walls or their patches on the walls, people spreading ashes of their family members here, this place even though it was my lively hood and my job and I owned it, it belonged to everybody,” says Ballard.

Ballard says he isn’t sure yet if he’ll rebuild.

“The World’s Largest Biker Bar” had been the subject of a truTV reality show which aired for several seasons.