Courtyard by Marriott patio damaged by river valley brush fire

Firefighters responded to a large grass fire near a hotel in downtown Edmonton Thursday night.

Crews were called to a brush fire outside the Courtyard by Marriott at 9 p.m. 

Several photos and videos from the scene showed flames burning in the river valley, near the Courtyard, Fairmont Hotel Macdonald and the 100 Street Funicular.

The Courtyard by Marriott patio did sustain some damage, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services told CTV News.

"The flames were actually hitting the patio at the Courtyard Marriott, so it caught on fire," acting district chief Cory Cremer told CTV News Edmonton at the scene.

"With hard work, we were able to save the building and put the fire out pretty fast." 

The hotel was evacuated for one to two hours. 

Smoke alarms also went off Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, Cremer confirmed. 

No injuries were reported Thursday night.

It took firefighters about an hour and a half to get the blaze under control. The fire was considered out at 10:48 p.m. 

"There's a lot of challenges with the hill and with the terrain. Then once we did put some water on it, it became a very slippery and dangerous situation," Cremer explained. 

He could not provide an estimate of the size of the burn area. 

The cause of the fire and damage estimate were also unknown Thursday night.

 

A witness told CTV News on Friday the fire was the largest she's ever seen.

“It was more tall than wide I would say, and all the smoke was coming up and heading towards the hotel itself," Melanie Tremblay said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean McClune