Fire tears through roof of 127-year-old Salmo Hotel in B.C.'s West Kootenay

A fire tore through the roof of a historic hotel in Salmo, B.C.,180 kilometres southeast of Kelownaon Friday afternoon.

Pat Rorickwas eating inside the Salmo Hotel pub with friends when a man ran in, telling them to get out.

"Out now, the building's on fire!" she recalled him yelling.

She then stood on the street watching flames shoot out of the roof of the hotel, which has stood in the same place in the community since 1896 and was largely reconstructed in 1932.

"There have been a lot of historic events there," said SalmoMayor Diana Lockwood. "It's a huge loss. It's going to devastate a lot of people."

No injuries reported

Lockwood, who lives two houses away, said the fire broke out around 1 p.m.

She said she looked out her living room window and saw flames towering four metres above the structure. The next thing she knew, she heard fire trucks making their way to the hotel.

Lockwood was on scene at the Salmo Hotel fire on Friday afternoon and said she couldn't see any flames, but smoke was visible.

"They're examining the roof to see if there's any hot spots or anything," she said.

Authorities have not been able to determine the cause of the fire yet.

Current hotelowner John Mirko was not at the hotelwhen he spoke to CBCon Friday afternoon and said he doesn't know a lot about the situation other than what he's heard from employees.

It's unclear what the extent of the damage is at this time. Mirkosaid as far as he knows, everyone was able to get out of the building and is safe, which is what other people on the scene have also told CBC News.

Community's largest employer

Mirko said the hotel isthe largest employer in the town of 1,100.

Lockwood says it'sdifficult to imagine the community's future without it.

"It's heart-wrenchingto have something like this happen."

She said it's still too early to estimate the extent of the damage but hopes some version of the hotel can be preserved or restored.

Lockwood also praised the community's volunteer firefighting force, many of whom work out of town, for "rushing home" to respond to the flames, preventing the firefrom spreading to a neighbouring pharmacy.

"We are such a lucky community to have them," she said.