Historic Gull Lake, Sask., hotel 'a shadow of what it once was' after destructive fire

A piece of history is gone from Gull Lake, Sask., after a fire broke out at the Clarendon Hotel Sunday morning.

Emergency crews were called to the hotel and bar around 8 a.m. CST.

"When we arrived on scene, the structure was fairly intact at that time — still looking fairly normal other than we had smoke billowing out of many of the windows," said Mayor Blake Campbell, who also operates the community's ambulance service.

Campbell said walls had to be knocked down, and the flames ultimately reduced the building to rubble. ​

"It's pretty much a shadow of what it once was. It's not really a building anymore."

While the owner of the hotel lives there, he was gone for the weekend.

Built in 1907, the hotel has been a big part of the community. Campbell said the town wanted to have the building declared a heritage property.

"I think it was a favourite gathering spot for a lot of folks."

People in the town were asked to conserve their water use as fire crews worked to put out the flames.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Gull Lake is located about 300 kilometres west of Regina.