Friday, March 29, 2024

Victoria fire crews enter fifth hour of battling Plaza Hotel blaze downtown

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Victoria fire crews, ambulances, police, and BC Transit are all present at the site of a massive structure fire at the vacant Plaza Hotel on Monday morning.

The blaze first broke out at approximately 5 a.m. at the intersection of Government St and Pandora Ave in the early hours of May 6th.

Fire crews, accompanied by a drone, have been battling the blaze from all angles since before 6 a.m. and the brick wall side of the building facing Pandora Ave collapsed just after 8:30 a.m.

The City of Victoria has since issued an air quality warning and announced the closure of City Hall for the rest of the day due to poor air quality and lack of access thanks to road closures.

Emergency crews have closed the 600-block of Pandora and the 1400-block of Government Street.

According to a BC Transit official on site, bus routes 14, 15, 24, and 25 are currently on detour via Yates St, while the 10 is on detour via Government.

A crowd of onlookers at the scene were also privy to the sight of ashes and debris falling from the building, and massive plumes of smoke blocking out the sun at regular intervals.

There have been no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire is still unknown.

More to come. 

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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