Ilfracombe residents are shocked after the remote town's only general store burnt down this morning.
Fire broke out in the General Store at Ilfracombe in central-west Queensland shortly after 8:30am.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said three crews attended but the building was completely gutted.
Tracey Hatch, owner of the Wellshot Hotel in Ilfracombe, said it was a terrible loss to the small town.
"I could see the smoke from home this morning, it's definitely a shock, we've lost an icon of the community," she said.
"In tough times, we're trying to build the community and it's just another kick in the guts."
She said the store had fuel, groceries and coffee, and the next stop now was Longreach, 20 minutes away.
"This morning we had some tourists coming in through wanting to know where they could get coffee and I said 'Well, the shop's just burnt down'," she said.
"We made them instant coffee but it certainly wasn't as good as what [the general store] do.
"It's another service that we've lost in our community."
It was the second fire in the region in recent months, with Longreach's Lyceum Hotel gutted by fire in June.
