Smoke billows from Fontainebleau Las Vegas rooftop
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas tourists and locals noticed heavy smoke coming from a new Las Vegas resort Saturday afternoon.
Smoke appeared to be coming from the rooftop area of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel on the Las Vegas strip. Clark County Fire officials say crews arrived at the still-under-construction hotel at 3:56 p.m.
No dollar value was attributed to the damage caused by the blaze. Crews were able to use elevators to get to the fire, and a total of 89 firefighters were involved in the incident.
There is expected to be rooftop damage to the hotel, and pumps in the building were functional, allowing for fire crews to more easily fight the blaze.
It was not immediately clear what brought on the fire and heavy smoke billowing from the rooftop of the building, and crews are just beginning the process of investigating the cause.
Las Vegas is expected to hit a high of 114 degrees on Saturday.
Las Vegas Metropolitan police said they were closing Elvis Presley Boulevard between Las Vegas Boulevard and Paradise Road due to the fire. Fire crews say they expect to be in the area for a prolonged period of time as investigators do their work.
Representatives from Fontainebleau Las Vegas released a statement Saturday saying, “A minor fire that occurred at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on the rooftop has been quickly contained, and there are no injuries. The fire started at approximately 3:41 p.m. and the cause is under investigation. As safety and security are our highest priorities, we are working closely with the investigators, and additional questions regarding the fire should be directed to the Clark County Fire Department.”
At approximately 4:00 p.m., the dark black smoke turned to white before the smoke ceased, indicating that the assumed blaze had been extinguished.
The smoke could be seen emitting from the building across the Las Vegas valley, resulting in calls from 8 News Now viewers.
While the hotel is currently unoccupied and under construction, onlookers worried the intense heat the Las Vegas valley is experiencing caused the blaze.
“We were laying in our hotel room, taking a break from the heat, and my mom looked out the window and said, ‘There’s something on fire,'” said Dixie Long, who is visiting Las Vegas from Canada.
“It started as a small black plume and it grew and grew,” Long said.
For those who work and live nearby, the hope is that the fire doesn’t delay the progress made in constructing the new resort.
“At least it was on the roof and not on any of the main floors,” said Aaron Pollard who is looking forward to the opening of Fontainebleau. “As long as it doesn’t delay the opening too bad.”
“It seems like it’s sort of a cursed building,” said Michael Fiorucci, who noted that while the building has been vacant for an extended period of time, expressed that he is still anticipating its opening.
