Fire ravaged the long-closed Paradise Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, for the second time in less than six months.
Tucumcari Fire Chief Doug Hogan said the blaze was reported at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday and wasn’t brought until control until about five hours later. He said the fire destroyed 10 to 12 rooms on the southernmost part of the motel, located on Tucumcari’s far west side.
The fire didn’t affect the garage / cafe building or the iconic neon sign on the north end of the motel. The sign was one of several along New Mexico’s Route 66 corridor that was restored in 2003.
At least three other area fire departments assisted in battling the blaze. Hogan said the fire remained under investigation. Three vehicles from the state fire marshal’s office were at the scene at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters were forced to haul water to the scene from hydrants more than a mile away at the Tucumcari Convention Center. Hogan said the part of town near the Paradise Motel had hydrants with unreliable water pressure.
A fire in September heavily damaged the main office building and one room at the motel.
Several online sources place the Paradise Motel’s construction to 1950, but I’ve found little else about it. Below is a vintage postcard image of the motel, with an exaggerated likeness of Tucumcari Mountain in the background:
(Postcard image of the Paradise Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, via 66Postcards.com)
So arson – again?
I wish people would stop destroying Route 66 landmarks.
Realistically, couldn’t we simply looking at someone homeless who carelessly set a fire? I’m not so sure it’s a deliberate attempt to destroy.
Why are people “homeless”. Many because they are incompetent, are druggies or alkies – and do not know or do not care about what they are doing most of the time. As to why they might cause a fire “accidentally”, the only reason I can think of is by throwing away a burning cigarette end or lit match. And how long does it take to step on a burning piece of paper? My money is still on arson; some people just like to see a fire and to destroy things, even if it is someone else’s property.
Eric, at least to me, and respectfully that’s a somewhat myopic view. It may well have been arson. But the fire alone doesn’t mean that it was set with, as “backroads66” suggested, malicious intent. It’s just a possibility. It’s also possible that on a cold night in Tucumcari, one of your “druggies” sheltered at the Paradise, set a fire for some warmth or to warm some food, thought it to be out when leaving, and missed the possibility that it could smolder for some time before flaring. Incompetent, yes. Careless, yes. But someone who deliberately wanted to destroy the structure, no. If the person was using it for shelter, that person would likely want it to remain for future use.
I did not say that anyone using the Paradise as a shelter deliberately set out to burn ( part of) it down. Just that such people are more likely to start a fire carelessly thnt the average person. And once the fire has started, such a person would – to me – be less likely to be competent enough to put it out. And there is still the possibility of arson by anyone.
All sorts of fires are started by accident. For example in Wales: “DISASTER struck over the Menai Strait on May 23 1970 when a group of teenagers accidentally set the Britannia Bridge alight. They were carrying a piece of burning paper as a lamp and when the lit paper was dropped inside the bridge, the wood and tar inside the tubular structure caught fire. Strong wind and the tubular shape helped the fire spread along the bridge. The fire continued to burn for nine hours.”
” the lack of an adequate water supply meant they were unable to control the fire, which spread all the way across from the mainland to the Anglesey side. After the fire had burned itself out the bridge was still standing, but the structural integrity of the iron tubes had been critically compromised by the intense heat. As a consequence the bridge, except for the original stone substructure, was completely rebuilt by Husband & Co.”
The bridge was 1511 feet long, and the fire raged through its whole length. All because of a piece of accidentally dropped burning paper.