The venerable Keno City Hotel was reduced to smoking rubble Friday evening after a devastating fire.
The hotel, which was first built in the 1920s, according to owner Leo Martel, caught fire early Friday evening.
Martel, who told the Star this morning he was still in shock, was having dinner with friends, including longtime resident Mike Mancini, at Mancini’s nearby restaurant when the fire was detected.
“We spotted a bunch of smoke coming from around the hotel,” Martel said. “The roofline was on fire.”
He and other residents rushed to the scene to see what could be done.
They began trying to move vehicles parked on-site, but some were frozen into the ground or wouldn’t start in the cold weather, making it more difficult.