Lightning strike blamed for fire at Grandview Inn

During a rare and powerful thunderstorm early Wednesday morning, the Grand View Inn on Parks Highway in Wasilla caught fire.

At around 2:30 am, calls came in of a lightning strike to a roof structure of the hotel. Hotel guest Chris Reynolds recalls hearing the thunderstorm and feeling the moment the lightning struck.

“The whole building just shook, it was a big jolt,” he said in an interview. He said he heard the fire alarms sound, followed by staff knocking on doors to help evacuate all of the guests from the building.

“I smelled smoke as soon as I opened the door, so I knew it was real,” he said.

Reynolds also posted video of the firefighting efforts to contain and extinguish the fire, which has been viewed over 20,000 times, with many commenting about the “lightening lighting up the Valley” and expressing gratitude for the fast response.

“The fire appears to have started in the attic space. Responding firefighters detected smoke in the attic space and were able to open the roof and put the fire out,” said Brian Davis of the Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services Department.

Thunderstorms are uncommon for the Mat-Su Valley, and even rarer is a lightning strike to a structure such as the hotel.

“Lightning can overpower the electrical systems and make the situation more complicated. This was an unusual event for us,” said Davis.

Davis credits the rapid response by the Central Mat-Su Fire Department, along with support from the West Lakes Fire Department and the Palmer Fire Department, for quickly putting the fire out.

Meanwhile, all guests and staff were evacuated and no reports of injuries. Over 50 people were displaced, and the Fire Marshall remained on hand to assist, though most guests were able to return later Wednesday morning.