Fire crews are still cleaning up nearly seven hours after the first call came in reporting a fire at the Clarion Lakeside Inn.
"Six fire trucks, our aerial truck, the rescue truck and close to 30 firefighters responded to the fire at the Clarion Inn," said Kenora Fire Chief Todd Skene in an interview with KenoraOnline Friday evening.
Around 3:30 pm Friday afternoon multiple calls came into 9-1-1 reporting a fire at the Clarion Lakeside Inn. When firefighters arrived on scene they called a "general alarm", which brought a large number of Kenora Fire and Emergency Services personel to the scene to help contain the fire.
"No injuries, everyone was evacuating or were out of the Clarion when we arrived. Everybody is safe. The hotel is closed now of course," responded Skene when asked about the hotel guests.
Between 20 - 30 guests were staying at the Clarion Lakeside Inn according to manager Jimmy Koo. The affected guests have been booked into the Travelodge and have been taken care of by Clarion staff according to one guest.
Firefighters worked throughout the afternoon to contain the fire under the Clarion Lakeside Inn as a thick blanket of smoke filled parts of downtown Kenora.
"Some of the heavy smoke that people saw throughout town was from a car that caught fire in the parking lot. There was a lot of smoke that was pushed through town." said Skene.
The car sustained extensive damage, but is not the ultimate reason for the fire.
"No determination of a cause yet. Can't even speculate," added Skene.
He did confirm that the fire started underneath the Clarion Lakeside Inn before engulfing the vehicle in the parking lot. The Clarion has both water and fire damage and is expected to be closed for a number of days.
Link to original article on kenoraonline.com: Kenora Fire Chief details Clarion blaze