Yes, you read that headline correctly. Residents of the nation's most famous ice hotel were evacuated on Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in one of its guest rooms. Are you reading this? A building made out of ice literally caught on fire. The fairytale resort, officially dubbed Hotel de Glace, is located seasonally within Quebec City, has 45 themed rooms, and is rebuilt every year using a bunch of ice blocks. Naturally, one would imagine that this massive subzero palace is essentially fire-proof, but we're learning that clumsiness and a few flammable objects is all it takes to turn even the coldest of places into a disaster zone.
According to several news reports, workers began to notice smoke pouring out of one of the guest rooms at approximately 1:15 in the morning. Thankfully, the fire department was contacted right away and everyone was escorted safely out of the ice structure before things got out of hand. In a media release, hotel management commended its employees for acting with haste. “The management of the Ice Hotel and the Calypso Valcartier group salutes the work of its staff and the first responders, who were quickly able to apply emergency measures. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our guests by this situation and we will do everything we can to reopen the Ice Hotel quickly.”
Hotel de Glace representatives took to social media to provide an update and further confirm the unfortunate event. They also asked their their followers to be patient while they close for a few days in order to repair any damage. "Exceptionally, the Ice Hotel will be closed for the next 2 days. The details will follow shortly. Stay tuned for our social media to know the reopening date," read a brief post on the hotel's Facebook page. It's a strange and pretty unbelievable thing to happen, but let's hope this is the last bit of ice and fire Quebec gets before the 2019 premiere of Game of Thrones.
