Emergency crews work on the scene of a fire that damaged the Mount Charleston Lodge on Sept. 17, 2021, near Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
LAS VEGAS — Fire on Friday burned the main building of the Mount Charleston Lodge in a forest area that is a popular retreat from summer heat for Las Vegas residents.
A fire official and a representative of the company that owns the business said the building that house's the lodge's restaurant was a total loss but that cabins used for lodging weren't damaged.
No injuries were reported, officials said.
The fire was reported at about 4:45 a.m. Its cause wasn't immediately known.
Photos posted online showed flames flaring from the building that burned, and Clark County Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Touchstone said the lodge's dining area was fully engulfed when the first units arrived at about 5 a.m.
The lodge was built in the 1960s after a previous lodge on the site that had been operating since at least 1948 was destroyed by a fire in December 1961, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Since 2018, the property has been operated by Ellis Island Hotel & Casino.
"The Lodge was a beloved landmark, and we plan on rebuilding and recreating the atmosphere and charm that so many were able to enjoy throughout the years," Christina Ellis, the company's marketing director, said in a statement.
Touchstone said it appeared the fire started inside the building when no employees were there and that it was too dangerous for firefighters to enter the building to fight the fire.
Dari Sullivan of Henderson said she was staying at a cabin at the lodge when she awoke to noise at 4:45 a.m. She and a friend saw the lodge ablaze with flames rising to the sky.
"It was the lodge itself (that was on fire), the restaurant," Sullivan said. "Everybody was out in the parking lot."
