Ituna Hotel destroyed in overnight blaze

A blaze destroyed the Ituna Hotel on Thursday evening.

Like many small-town hotels, the Ituna Hotel was known as the heart of the community.

Adrienne Ivey, a rancher who has lived close to town for more than a decade, saw the fire.

Watching the building burn was an emotional experience.

“There were a lot of memories created in that building over the years,” she said. “Since I’ve been a resident of the area, the Ituna Hotel has been somewhere that people gather, swap stories and have good times.

“It feels like the end of an era for sure. It’s definitely a sad night for Ituna.”

Prayers for the first responders putting their safety on the line tonight in our little town. 💕💕💕 pic.twitter.com/q8MMsHZR3L

— Adrienne Ivey (@adrienneivey) December 11, 2020

Volunteer firefighters were called to the scene shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday and were able to extinguish the flames by 3 a.m.

The building was completely destroyed, but the fire did not spread any further.

Nobody was hurt, and there is no word yet on a cause.

Ivey worried the fire would spread to other buildings close to the hotel.

“It was a very large fire by anyone’s standards, for sure … It is a testament to (the volunteer fire department) that all of Main Street did not burn down in Ituna last night,” she said.

“It was a very sad night, but a very timely reminder of how important our volunteer fire departments are.”