A taxi owned by Adam Cab crashed into a utility pole on Lagoon Pond Road across from the Tisbury post office early Thursday morning, snarling traffic at the Five Corners intersection for several hours on one of the busiest days of the year. The accident occurred around 7 a.m., just as the early morning boats were arriving to deliver throngs of visitors and seasonal residents for the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.

A Fourth of July morning fire destroyed Café Moxie restaurant and severely damaged the Bunch of Grapes bookstore in Main Street Vineyard Haven.

The blaze, the biggest on the Island in years, is believed to have started in the basement of the café shortly after 9 a.m.

Owner Austin Racine was the only person in the café at the time. He said he was in the kitchen when he noticed smoke. He had earlier been in the basement, which is used for storage.

Cafe Moxie came down this afternoon and weary firefighters worked through the day to separate the charred remains of the building from the Bunch of Grapes book store, to prevent further smoke and fire damage and to allow fire personnel to enter the building and begin to evaluate the overall damage.

Speaking from the scene of the fire, with smoke still rising from the charred support beams and timber, Tisbury fire chief John Schilling said the priority now is to salvage the adjacent book store and make sure the fire is completely extinguished.

Tisbury’s annual street fair will not only go on despite the Independence Day fire, it will go on because of it, to help raise money for those affected.

An emergency meeting of the town selectmen Saturday morning appealed for a big turnout, and for people to come and donate.

An annual celebration of the town’s birthday, the street fair is Tuesday night.