WESTLOCK — Fawcett resident Roxann Larson, who lived next to the Fawcett Hotel and Bar, had a jarring end to 2023 when youngest son awoke and notified her of a large fire outside their home just before 5 a.m. on Dec. 31.
“I ran to his window and looked out and saw the massive flames and all the fire trucks,” said Larson. “I ran back to our room to wake up my husband. At first, I was really scared because we were so close to it.”
She praised Westlock County and Town of Westlock firefighters on the scene that night for their hard work and efforts in saving their home and nearby buildings.
“An amazing shout out to all the firefighters that came out and did an amazing job in protecting us and preventing this blaze from getting out of control,” said Larson, adding she saw firefighters from Westlock County, including those from Fawcett and Busby as well as the Town of Westlock, battling the blaze and soon had the fire under control.
Fortis Alberta and Wild Rose REA were also on site for a while as there were nearby power lines and poles that had caught fire she said and the power was out for about an hour.
“Once it became light we saw how much burnt debris had blown over into our yard and how lucky we were that it wasn’t a windier night.”
Larson said the family moved to Fawcett in 2019 and although they had never attended the bar at the Fawcett hotel, she knew several people who did go occasionally, prior to its closure. She also heard from many in and around Fawcett that “it was a great place to go and have fun and a lot of memories were made for the people around this community,” noted Larson, adding that people were sad when the hotel shut down, as it “did bring people to the community and was a gathering place for the people of this community.”
In the time they have lived next to the Fawcett Hotel, they have seen a lot of vandalism to the building, particularly the bar, including broken windows and graffiti, said Larson, noting the county came out several months ago and “put boards up over doors and windows in hopes of keeping people out.”
Senior planning and development officer with Westlock County, Kathleen Deshoux, said the Fawcett Hotel and Bar is believed to have closed in early 2017, based on assessment information they have and Westlock County fire chief John Biro was able to confirm the building was boarded up several months ago, after the county had begun discussions to demolish it last year, when incidents of vandalism were brought to their attention.
“That’s what it was planned to be (demolished) in the end. It was just a matter of funding and the appropriate timing,” said Biro, noting that it was a last resort for the county, as they had hoped the registered owner would have done something with the building.
“But there was no response on that part so the county had to do something with it. It takes time also, because we want to make sure everything is done correctly,” he said. “It started to get vandalized, people were entering into the building, the building was unsafe so it was kind of a safety concern and a liability for the county so that’s why we were planning on, as soon as we can and when feasible, that the building would be brought down.”
Biro said the concern the night of the fire was not for the hotel but for nearby homes and other buildings. He said crews conducted fire patrols along Highway 44.
“Our concern was the fire spreading to other buildings, other homes. We’re just lucky that there were no other homes damaged,” said Biro. “There was potential, (flames) could have definitely spread. We had embers that were noted two kilometres away from the fire.”
Cleanup of the site and removal of debris remains ongoing.
