The Cheyenne Fire Department received a call this morning at 6:24am MST to a report of fire showing at the Hitching Post Inn & Resort, Fire officials arrived on scene at 6:28am and were forced to call in more help when the fire began to spread through the attic to the east side of the Hotel. As of 2:45pm MST the fire was still burning with very little under control.
The followig is from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle:
CHEYENNE (2:45 p.m. update) -- Firefighters have largely contained the fire on the west side of the historic Hitching Post Inn, but they continue to battle flames on the east portion of the building.
"We're still making progress," deputy chief of operations John Narva said this afternoon. "There is significant damage to the entire main building."
Narva said Cheyenne Fire and Rescue crews have gone into the west portion to do some checking for hidden fires and have moved to an interior offensive attack.
"I'm sure we will have crews out here throughout the night," he said.
The initial 911 call came in to dispatch at 6:24 a.m. First-responders arrived at 1700 W. Lincolnway to find the majority of the fire in the west wing at 6:28 a.m.
They called in more crews as the fire moved to the east. Officials said it appeared to have spread through the attic.
City officials closed the hotel in September 2009, citing numerous safety concerns and code violations. A new owner took over the building in June and was making renovations to the lobby and two unattached buildings. It was unoccupied when the fire broke out, and Narva said they are unaware of any victims at this point.
For updated information throughout the day, come back here to WyomingNews.com, and for complete coverage of the blaze and its aftermath, read Thursday's Wyoming Tribune Eagle print edition.