Squatters Suspected Of Starting Fire In Vacant Evanston Motel

Squatters staying in a vacant hotel in Evanston, Wyoming, are suspected of starting a fire Tuesday in the vacant Hillcrest Motel on Harrison Drive.

The Uinta County Fire District quickly extinguished a fire in one of the rooms of the motel, getting the call just after 7 a.m.

Uinta County Fire and Ambulance responded, and Evanston Police Officer Alexander Heide was the first to arrive at the scene.

“I noticed fire coming out of one of the apartments and evacuated the known tenants of the building,” Heide told Cowboy State Daily.

Those “known tenants” are a number of squatters the owner reportedly has been having trouble evicting as he works to renovate the place.

The Evanston Fire Department responded quickly and extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Squatter Struggle

Michael Vranish, Evanston’s chief of police, said the Hillcrest Motel has been a source of contention in recent years. The owner, who hopes to reinvigorate the property, is having issues with squatters.

“He’s got some legal (problems) with squatters right now,” he said. “We’ve given some advice, but without court orders, we can't force people from their residences. We're just still waiting for things to happen and trying to get the area improved.”

The owner has already taken parts of the structure down in anticipation of a renovation, which is why some Evanston residents said the structure looked “derelict.”

Despite this, Vranish said the area around the Hillcrest Motel has gotten “quieter” over the years.

“It was a common area for us to respond to several years ago, but it’s gotten quieter since then,” he said. “It depends on who’s living there.”

Heide estimated that eight to 10 occupied units were in the same structure where the fire was reported.

“Although, ‘occupied’ is a loose term,” he said.

Vranish said the affected structure has been “almost taken down to its bones” at this point. He hopes the issues between the owner and the squatters will be resolved soon so the transformation can begin.

“We'll be working with them a little bit in the summer as we try to improve the area,” he said.

Vranish’s impression of the Tuesday morning incident was that it was “not a significant fire.” Nevertheless, he applauded the Uinta County Fire District's rapid response.

“The fire department responded quickly and got I under control rapidly,” he said. “Nobody was seriously injured. It’s hard to tell if there was any damage based on its current condition, but the right people were on the scene when they needed to be.”

Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.