One man is unaccounted for after a fire tore through the vacant Plaza Hotel building at the intersection of Pandora and Government in downtown Victoria on Monday.
The caretaker of the former hotel, Mike Draeger, remains missing as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Authorities have been unable to determine whether or not Draeger was inside the building when the fire broke out.
A trailer that reportedly belonged to the caretaker was located behind the building, and a van was parked out front, but there were no signs of anyone being in those vehicles.
Victoria Police has yet to hear from Draeger, and anyone who knows how to contact him is asked to speak to police immediately.
A crowd of onlookers observe as @VictoriaFire730 crews battle major fire at the old Plaza Hotel on Goverment and Pandora. The fire broke out at approximately 5am this morning and the @CityOfVictoria has since issued an air quality warning due to smoke #yyj #yyjnews pic.twitter.com/pMusulHk8q
— Brishti Basu (@brish_ti) May 6, 2019
Fire still smouldering
The fire that destroyed the historic Plaza Hotel building started just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning, and continues to smoulder today.
Firefighters continued battling the blaze overnight and into Tuesday morning in order to prevent the fire from regaining its strength.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is currently ongoing and it is too early to tell whether it is suspicious.
Centennial Square was closed to the public yesterday afternoon due to concerns about poor air quality generated by the heavy columns of smoke emanating from the fire.
The Canadian Coast Guard also deployed containment booms to surround the base of the Johnson Street Bridge in order to prevent drainage from the fire from entering the waters.
Acrid smoke shrouds the area surrounding the Plaza Hotel fire, and onlookers can see bits of ashes and debris falling from the building.
There is no update yet on what caused the fire. pic.twitter.com/buoo8wVlIw
— Brishti Basu (@brish_ti) May 6, 2019
City Hall remains closed today, and BC Transit is still rerouting buses 10, 14, and 15 to avoid passing by the area.
According to the latest update, Government Street from Pandora Ave to Fisgard St is now open, and cars can turn right from Government to Pandora.
However Government St between Johnson and Pandora remains closed to traffic until further notice.
1/3 Victoria Fire crews have successfully extinguished all major hot spots. Fire no longer a threat to neighbouring structures. Crews remain onseen overnight to monitor & ensure no active fire #yyjfire #yyjtraffic pic.twitter.com/4pue6FInte
— City of Victoria (@CityOfVictoria) May 7, 2019