Historic Hotel in Oliver destroyed by fire

Firefighters worked to contain a blaze at the historic Mesa Hotel in Oliver Sunday, but could do little to save the building after its roof collapsed.

Crews were called around 7 a.m. to the fire, which started at the hotel’s Rumour Mill Bar and Grill before spreading, authorities said.

By noon, the three-storey building had been gutted and Fire Chief Dave Janzen had ordered bulldozers to collapse it manually in order to control the fire as it burned in the basement.

Two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and one was taken to hospital and treated for heat exhaustion.

The Mesa Hotel, known until recent years as the Oliver Hotel, was originally built in 1912 in New Westminster as the Queensborough Hotel. In the 1920s it was taken down and reconstructed as the Oliver in the southern Okanagan Valley town of the same name.

According to reports, the hotel had been shut down recently because it wasn’t up to fire code. A statement on the hotel’s website read, "While the hotel is under construction, we currently offer a family restaurant, and a bar."

The B.C. Fire Commissioner’s Office has been called in to investigate the cause.