A large fire broke out at the Quaaout Lodge and Spa, near Chase B.C., on Sunday morning.
Witnesses told Global News the fire started around 8:00 a.m. and the first fire truck arrived on the scene approximately 25 minutes later.
“We had just sat down for breakfast when the alarm started around 8:00 a.m. We came outside to the parking lot, and we weren’t really sure at that point whether it was a false alarm or not,” said Joel Levy who was a guest at the lodge.
Videos shared with Global News show large flames and plumes of smoke coming from an area of the lodge.
Dan Thiessen, who was also a guest at the lodge said the fire started in the front section of the hotel rooms destroying the third floor where he was staying.
“It took about five minutes for the flames to be visible, then massive. All got out safe. There was concern for two dogs trapped in the building, but I was able to see them escape unharmed,” said Thiessen.
A shuttle service arrived to move guests to the local band hall and hotels are being organized for the displaced guests. Several guests have lost most of their belongings, and it is unclear when they will be able to return to the lodge.
“I had personally only my phone on me. My car keys are in the room my wallet is in the room, so they are going to have to organize a way for us to get to our cars and to hotels as this is a pretty remote community,” said Levy.
“We are all still in shock. We’re worried about the community too. People are just losing a bunch of stuff in the rooms, and it is all replaceable but for a tight-knit community like this, we don’t know how this is going to affect the community.”
He added that to his knowledge, crews were able to get the fire under control around 10:30 a.m.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown, and it is unclear if anyone was injured.
Global News has reached out to Chase Fire Rescue for more information.