UPDATE JUNE 11: According to a tweet by the City of Las Vegas, demolition of the old El Cid Hotel has begun.
A longtime hazard is being torn down. The demolition of the El Cid (Bridger and Sixth) started today and will continue for a couple days. pic.twitter.com/70fbq5WWeS
— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) June 11, 2019
ORIGINAL STORY
An early-morning fire at an abandoned hotel in downtown Las Vegas today comes just two days after the City Council approved the demolition of another abandoned building in the area, the old El Cid Hotel.
On Feb. 22, 5 people were rescued from an abandoned hotel on corner of South 6th Street near Carson Avenue just after 2 a.m.
The building is vacant and does not have utilities connected to it. Authorities say there was evidence that squatters were staying in the building.
Squatters have been a concern for authorities for some time in the area.
In Dec. 2018, 13 Action News spoke to Las Vegas firefighters after a heavy fire broke out at the El Cid Hotel on the same block, near South 6th Street and Bridger Avenue.
RELATED: Fire at abandoned downtown Las Vegas hotel, squatters major concern for Las Vegas police
Crews told us they responded to 3 fires at the hotel between Nov. 2018 and Dec. 2018.
"We don’t know if we’re going to get shot or stabbed because we will find these people laying on the floor and we don’t know if they’re a victim,” said Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer, at the time.
This week, on Feb. 20, the Las Vegas City Council approved the demolition El Cid Hotel with officials deeming it an "imminent hazard."
