'The flames were pretty high': Firefighters battle blaze at historic Strathcona Hotel

Emergency crews battled a fire into the early morning Saturdayat the historic Strathcona Hotel on Whyte Avenue.

Fire crews werecalled to the building on the corner of Whyte Avenue and Gateway Boulevard at about 9:30 p.m. Friday, when flames were visible from the second floor.

The fire was declared under control at 2 a.m. Saturday, said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Kristi Bland. Ten fire trucks and 40 firefighters were called to the scene.

The building dates back to 1891 and was under renovations at the time of the fire. It was believed to be empty.

No injuries have been reported. The extent of the damage and cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

At least two neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

It holds a lot of memories for people of all ages- Amanda Roberts

Amanda Roberts lives in the area and walked past the hotel Friday night to see what was going on.

She said she has a lot of fond memories of drinking dollar beer in the hotel, and was sad to see a fire break out.

"It holds a lot of memories for people of all ages," she said.

"I think it has been monumental for people young people like my age, just a place to get together. I feel like the buildings on Whyte Avenueespecially just hold so much meaning for a lot of people. Seeing it on fire is something that is probably sad to a lot of people."

Michelle Olivaresmanages the Crawford Block apartments, another historic buildingimmediately north of the hotel.

When she heard the fire alarm go off and noticed the smoke, she quickly realized it wasn't a drill.

"I went out and checked from my window and the flames were coming out and it was so crazy," she said.

"The flames were pretty high and smoke was pretty big and thick."

She began calling residents to tell them to leave the building.

On Saturday morning, fire investigators remained on scene.

The roof of the hotel was charred, but the exterior remained intact.

Mark Wilson is a co-owner of Vivid Print, a printing and framing store on Whyte Avenue, about half a block to the west of the hotel.

His store was unaffected by the fire, but says several shops in the area were without power Saturday morning.

16 years ago this month, three historic buildings located a block awayon the corner of 104th Street and Whyte Avenue were destroyed in an overnight fire.

Wilson says firefighters worked "heroically" to save the building and prevent Friday night's fire from spreading to the attached businesses.

It's tough to tell how much damage was done, he said.

"The external portion of the Strath, apart from the roof, shows very little damage, but what the light of day is sort of showing is there seems to be considerable damage to the interior of the north wing of the hotel," he said.

"It's hard to say from the outside how much of the structure has been damaged on the inside."