Fire destroys row of empty buildings in Ashcroft

ASHCROFT – Smouldering ground with a few chimneys poking up through the rubble is all that remains of four empty buildings, including a former federal transportation structure, in Ashcroft.

The sirens started wailing at about 11 p.m. as volunteers from the Ashcroft and Cache Creek Fire Departments responded to the blaze.

A fierce wind had local firefighters worried so they called for help from B.C. Wildfire Management Friday night.

The mayor of Ashcroft, Andy Anderson, says no one was living in the buildings that burned, according to a CFJC TV report.

Local resident Barbara Roden posted to Facebook, “The fire jumped the highway in several places but the firefighters kept it contained."

She goes on to say, “The Manor and Teahouse and the cabins around the fire were saved, but all the buildings on the Beam Station site are gone. Nothing but the chimneys.”

The Trans Canada through Ashcroft was closed for several hours as fire crews battled the flames.

No word yet on the cause of the fire.

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.