The 1000 Peaks Lodge at Panorama Mountain Village has suffered severe damage from a fire that tore through the building shortly after 1am on Wednesday, February 27.

After being alerted to the emergency, the Columbia Valley Rural Fire & Rescue Service responded with emergency workers from Panorama, Windermere and Invermere. Firefighters spent five hours battling the blaze and remain on-site at the resort dealing with smouldering wreckage.

Windermere Fire Chief Jim Miller estimates that 10 to 12 condominium units were destroyed, and says that the fire originated in one unit on the top floor of the building and then spread through the roof and carried the flames along the whole top floor.

Nobody is missing and no injuries were reported.

Because accommodations at Panorama are expected to be at full capacity this weekend as it hosts the Cresa U16 Can-Am Western Championships, compromises may have to be made between the resort and arriving guests scheduled to stay in the lodge.

“Anyone that was supposed to be staying in that building [this weekend], we’re looking at relocating them to another building if we have the space, and we’re looking at a few other options as well, but we’ll make things work for any of our guests,” said Panorama marketing coordinator Jamie Hurschler.