An epic wildfire is tearing through Colorado Springs, causing destruction and chaos everywhere in its path. The Colorado Spring area is a big travel destination and tourism is being affected by the disaster. Hotels are being affected as the fire causes disruptions and anxiety across the region.
The Colorado Springs wildfires are the worst that the state has seen in a decade. Now at its fifth day of causing chaos in the state, the fire has caused over 32,000 people to leave their homes due to evacuations and home destruction, according to Reuters. Strong winds of up to 65 miles per hour are moving the fires quickly into northwest Colorado Springs, according to CNN.
HotelNewsNow.com reports that several hotels are being affected by the blaze in some way.
People could see smoke blowing towards the Stanley Hotel, a 102-year-old haunted building which is famous for inspiring author Stephen King to write "The Shining" in Estes Park.
Management at the Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs spent all of Tuesday night monitoring the wind patterns to determine whether or not the hotel could remain open. The iconic Broadmoor was only a few miles away from the fire but the winds were in its favor and the hotel remained open on Wednesday.
"We are open for business. The base of the fire on the south end has been secured and is moving rapidly away from us," Allison Scott, director of communications at the Broadmoor told HotelNewsNow.
"The impact on the north end of town has been intense, but down here except for some smoke in the air it's kind of the tale of two cities. Down here we have sunshine, no wind at the moment," she said, describing the experience as "surreal."
The hotel is currently full of guests as many staff members who had to relocate or evacuate are being housed by the 744-room hotel.
The number of hotels that have been closed or damaged due to the fire is unknown at the moment, but several hotels have been evacuated.
For instance, the Hyatt House Colorado Springs and Hyatt Place Colorado Springs/Garden of the Gods have reported closures and evacuations on Tuesday.
"Hyatt House Colorado Springs will be closed for arrivals for the next five days, and Hyatt Place Colorado Springs/Garden of the Gods will be closed for arrivals for the next 10 days. Both hotels will waive all cancellation and rebooking charges and will work with each traveler to make future arrangements," according to a statement.
HotelNewsNow said that In Manitou Springs, the Days Inn had a mandatory evacuation due to the Waldon Canyon Fire on June 24. However, the hotel reopened on June 25, according to the Wyndham Hotel Group.
Best Western hotels are offering 50 to 60 percent discounts to residents who had to relocate and rescue workers who are trying to put out the fires. However, the Best Western Executive Inn & Suites in Colorado Springs and the Best Western Sky Way Inn & Suites in Manitou Springs also had to evacuate on Sunday.
Another Wyndham Grand Hotel, the Mining Exchange in downtown Colorado Springs is also opening up to evacuated residents. It is about 10 miles away from the fires, providing a safe area for people to stay while the fires continue and hopefully die down.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
