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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Couple faces decisions after blaze destroys hotel
Little is left of the Northern Nights Hotel in Churchill after an overnight fire.
THE owners of the Northern Nights Hotel in Churchill are still in shock after their business burned to the ground late Friday night.
"We're still reeling from the whole thing," Gord Martens said Sunday night.
He and wife Lynn have owned the hotel for the past two-and-one-half years.
One person was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, but all guests were safely evacuated and taken to other hotels, RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish said.
"We have a lot of decisions to make right now," Martens said.
The couple has not yet had time to think about rebuilding the hotel, he said.
They had planned to close for the winter after this weekend, which is pretty much the end of the tourism season for watching polar bears, Martens said.
"Basically, our bear season is over. All the tourists have left. We were planning on being closed for the winter," he said.
"Bear season is always the prime time for all the hotels. October, November, that's bear season -- that's when the town is full."
Martens said the Churchill tourist season picks up again in the spring for birders and whale watching, though tourism is not as heavy as it is in polar-bear season.
The Northern Nights Hotel had 25 rooms, a house with three rooms, a restaurant, and a lounge -- all lost.
Police and firefighters rushed to the hotel at 10 p.m. Friday, Karpish said.
"RCMP arrived on scene where black smoke could be observed. All guests had safely exited the structure," she said.
"Two nearby apartment complexes were also evacuated as a precaution."
Karpish said investigators are still determining a cause, but "the fire is not believed to be arson," she said. "We suspect the cause, but are working with the local fire department, witnesses, and OFC (office of the fire commissioner) to firm that up just yet."
No damage estimate was available.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 21, 2011 A4
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