Grand Forks, B.C. has lost a landmark after a historic building was burned to the ground in one of two hotel arsons overnight.
What was left of the Grand Forks Hotel was brought down around noon Wednesday after a blaze tore through the building, which is more than a century old.
Owner Mandy Nordahn told CTV News she'd recently had the hotel renovated.
"We've done a lot of work in there to try and turn it back around and bring more customers in and make it a better place for everybody to come. And a lot of people came, and now they can't," she said.
Several people who called the hotel home lost everything they owned.
"My neighbour knocked on my door and said ‘fire' and the smoke was at least six, eight feet high through the hallways," resident Roger Perron said.
Just down the street, the Winnipeg Hotel was also the target of a suspected arson on Tuesday night, but damage was minimal.
It's believed that the fiery night began after a patron was tossed from the Winnipeg Hotel and then pinned a note to the front door. Former hotel employee Dane Elliot described the note as threatening.
"It was kind of like a suicide note. Kind of like, ‘the bar is going down, I'm angry,'" he said.
An arrest has been made, and RCMP Const. Menno Agteren said there is "strong evidence" linking the suspect to the fires.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
