1 dead as fire destroys hotel and history in downtown Nome

A fire that burned for hours in the early morning darkness Tuesday in downtown Nome killed at least one person and destroyed a popular hotel and bar near the Iditarod finish line, according to officials.

Emergency responders brought the blaze at the two-story Polaris Hotel on Bering Street under control after about seven hours, officials said.

One fatality was confirmed, Nome Mayor Richard Beneville said. The person's identity was not yet known, he said.

Beneville said the building appears to be a total loss.

The hotel was within walking distance of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race finish line. With more than 30 rooms, it was commonly used by residents of the region traveling through Nome, he said.

"It's totally sad — a fire is probably your worst nightmare in rural Alaska," he said, because old buildings made of wood can spread flames to other buildings.

"Currently it's just one building, so now we wait to make sure everyone is safe, and they'll investigate it," he said.

The second story was engulfed in flames at 4 a.m. when Beneville first saw it, he said.

He said the loss of beds in the community will hurt the economy. But people will open their houses to visitors during the Iditarod, he said.

"We'll do whatever we need to do to make sure everyone is safe and warm," Beneville said.

The city of Nome issued a midday statement saying firefighters were still combating remnant "hot spots." Responders would search for potential victims once conditions were safe, the statement said.

State fire inspectors plan to travel to Nome on Wednesday, an Alaska State Troopers spokesman said.

Bun Hardy, a Nome police dispatcher, said the department received a call on the fire at 2:43 a.m. and it was under control by about 9:50 a.m.

"We have not determined how it started," Hardy said.

Jenny Mills was walking to work at a Nome regional nonprofit organization early Tuesday morning when she saw the fire and lots of smoke.

Mills said the Polaris Hotel included one of the biggest bars in town and hosted major events for the Iditarod finish in March, including the "wet buns" contest with men as contestants.

"It's a huge blow to the community," she said.

Responders ripped down a portion of the building in danger of collapsing, using heavy equipment, said John Handeland, manager of the Nome Joint Utility System.

Handeland said the building is "gone" and the wreckage will have to be bulldozed away.

The fire erased a piece of history, said Handeland, 57. The hotel and bar had existed at least since the 1950s, when his mother worked there as a housekeeper before he was born.

The walls were covered with old photos of Nome events, such as the annual golfing classic on the frozen Bering Sea.

There were also lots of small paintings of local residents, including one of him. Maybe 25 years ago, a previous owner had hired a painter to create caricature portraits of diners and other patrons, he said. Handeland worked for a mining company then, so he was depicted pushing a wheelbarrow of gold.

Those relics are likely all destroyed, he said.

"Waking up to Halloween, this was definitely not the trick I was looking for," he said.

Alaska Dispatch News reporter Laurel Andrews contributed to this report.