Vacant hotel erupts into flames near Interstate 35, UT campus

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A vacant hotel and restaurant caught fire near Interstate 35 and the University of Texas at Austin campus Sunday evening, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the air that could be seen from miles away.

Fire crews continued to put out hot spots into Monday. The Texas Department of Transportation confirmed that the hotel was actively being demolished to make way for the I-35 expansion project.

“They were already in a state of demolition, which explains the rapid fire progression, because they had already come in and taken out the doors, the windows, and the sheet rock. It was really just a standing lumber in all these buildings, ” Thayer Smith, Austin Fire Department assistant chief of operations, told KXAN on Monday. “Once the fire started, the wind just blew it with nothing to stop it.”

AFD said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but arson investigators are working the scene. More than 60 firefighters responded to the blaze.

Smith said AFD is working with Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office to determine if anyone was residing in the abandoned structure.

“We do have reports from the demolition company of homeless activity. That’s one thing we’ll look at among the many other things we typically look at during fire cause investigation,” Smith continued.

Lisa Herrera saw “huge billows of black smoke” from the fire while driving on her way from south Austin and “had to see what happened.”

“It was super, super black smoke,” she said. “Occasionally, you could see a light puff of gray, but it was complete darkness that covered everything. It was crazy. Thank God for firefighters; they’re doing a great job.”

She said she received a notification from the KXAN News smartphone app with details about the fire.

AFD said that electricity was shut off in the area due to the height of the flames and that one firefighter was treated for a heat-related injury. Austin-Travis County EMS wrote on social media that it had multiple units on the scene to support the firefighters, but had not treated any patients.

Heavy smoke shut down the southbound lanes of Interstate 35, according to a notice sent to city leaders.

Both buildings that burned had been empty for some time. The hotel, formerly a Rodeway Inn, had been covered in graffiti. Aster’s Ethiopian Restaurant shut down this summer, according to a post on the restaurant’s social media page.