OGUNQUIT, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A fire destroyed the Blue Water Inn in Ogunquit Tuesday evening and also spread to neighboring businesses on the peninsula.
"I saw the Blue Water in burning up in flames I mean it's pretty tragic," said Max Clayton.
Clayton first spotted smoke billowing from the Ogunquit landmark as he was driving down Route 1.
"It was a very advanced fire when we got here even though our station is a quarter of a mile away," said Ogunquit Chief Mark O'Brien.
Several departments responded to the scene and O'Brien said high winds were blowing the thick black smoke into the road. Because the inn is on the peninsula next to the bridge, crews couldn't fight it from all sides, making it difficult to extinguish. The flames also spread to Huckleberry's next door and then the Norseman Motel, but the fire completely destroyed the Blue Water Inn.
"It's definitely tragic and heart wrenching because that's a landmark. I've been in the Blue Water in many times Huckleberry's and almost made me feel kind of sick seeing burn down," said Clayton.
The Inn, which is on the peninsula, was still closed for the season, but was supposed to open this Saturday, said Clayton. According to its website, the inn has been open since the 1970s. It is located on the peninsula, facing the river estuary. There are only seven rooms, along with a seafood restaurant and a beach bar.
U.S. Route 1, River Road and Shore Road were all closed for several hours, but reopened before 10 p.m. For a while Route 1was completely impassable because of a firehose to a hydrant. Beach Street is still closed and police said it will be for a while.
The Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. One firefighter is being treated for heat exhaustion after working the scene.
