LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- A three-alarm fire causing an estimated $3.5 million in damage to the Riviera Hotel-Casino Thursday forced an evacuation of the resort and closed a portion of the Las Vegas Strip for several hours.
One hotel security guard was treated for smoke inhalation and one firefighter sustained a cut to his hand, but no serious injuries were reported, said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach.
Leinbach said the fire, which broke out about 10:30 a.m., originated in the hotel's new $100 million casino expansion project currently under construction. Flames caused extensive damage to the addition, which fronts on the Las Vegas Strip, he said.
Fire investigators said a spark from a welder's torch ignited nearby lumber used in the 125,000 square-foot expansion.
Smoke and water from the hotel's sprinkler system damaged portions of the existing hotel and casino, including 75 hotel rooms, but Leinbech said flames were confined to the new construction area.
The outside of the building was scorched in the fire and forced closure of the Strip between Sahara Avenue and Spring Mountain Road. The southbound lanes of the Strip reopened about 3 p.m. The northbound lanes reopened an hour later, Leinbach said.
Guests with rooms in the hotel's 30-year-old north tower were not expected to stay in that section of the resort Thursday night because of safety concerns and heavy smoke and water damage, a hotel spokesman said.
The resort spokesman said he had no estimate on how many guests were affected, but said the resort was nearly full when the fire broke out.
Hotel officials estimated 3,400 hotel guests were registered and 1,300 employees were on duty Thursday morning.
