Flames and smoke billow out of the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Rachel Sharples/Conway Daily Sun via AP) Rachel Sharples

Firefighters battle the flames roaring through the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., on Saturday. Rachel Sharples / Conway Daily Sun via AP

Firefighters from Brownfield walk up to join the other local units as flames and smoke billow out of the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., on Saturday. Rachel Sharples / Conway Daily Sun via AP

Firefighters assess the situation and continue clearing the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., as the flames begin to come under control on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Rachel Sharples/Conway Daily Sun via AP) Rachel Sharples

Flames and smoke billow out of the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Rachel Sharples/Conway Daily Sun via AP) Rachel Sharples

People watch as flames and smoke billow out of the south wing of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, N.H., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Rachel Sharples/Conway Daily Sun via AP) Rachel Sharples

 As local and state fire officials continue their probe into Saturday’s massive, wind-swept fire that raced through the popular Red Jacket Mountain Resort & Water Park, members of its staff are assisting displaced guests and are in the process of reaching out to people who have booked reservations for May, according to a statement on the resort’s Facebook page.

“Yesterday, we experienced an extremely unfortunate incident at our beloved Red Jacket Mountain Resort,” the statement begins.

“The fire … has now been extinguished, thanks to the fast action of our area’s first responders. Our first priority is working with current guests for their immediate needs and getting them home safely,” it states.

A total of 155 guests were staying at the resort at the time of the fire.

Officials said their plan was to begin reaching out on Sunday to everyone who has made reservations through May, to assist them in canceling their reservations or with alternative accommodations.

Also on Sunday, Red Jacket staff and firefighters were able to begin escorting guests who were staying in the other wings of the hotel back into their rooms to gather their belongings, North Conway Fire Chief Pat Preece said.

Preece, along with state Fire Marshal Sean P. Toomey and Justin Grimes, regional manager of EOS Hospitality, Red Jacket’s parent company, gathered a press conference Sunday afternoon on the property of the resort complex, which is off White Mountain Highway (Route 16) in North Conway.

Heavy fire was “blowing out of the second and third floors of the south wing” when first-arriving crews rolled up to the scene, Preece said.

Some of the emergency calls that police and fire dispatchers fielded indicated guests were trying to escape the heavy fire by jumping from third-floor rooms, Preece said, but it was determined that they were actually climbing over the balconies onto second-floor balconies and lowering themselves to the ground.

Officials also received reports indicating children were trapped in the building, prompting crews to immediately battle their way in to search that area. Fortunately, Preece said, the crews soon confirmed nobody was inside.

The blaze broke out somewhere in the south wing of the hotel and spread rapidly, pushed through room after room by the heavy winds, which gusted freely across the hilltop resort.

The volume of fire, Preece said, forced command officers to pull crews from the building and shift to defensive operations, meaning fighting the fire from outside the building.

The wing, which was constructed in the 1970s before laws requiring sprinkler systems were enacted, did have working smoke detectors, Preece said, adding that he heard the horns sounding when he arrived before the fire destroyed the electrical circuits and knocked out power to the building.

Toomey, meanwhile, said investigators face a formidable challenge in pinpointing the spot where the fire started, and accordingly, their efforts to find the cause.

“The damage is so heavy it will be extremely difficult” to find the point of origin and cause, Toomey said, but there’s nothing that suggests “criminal indicators” are involved.

“What I can say is this is an active, ongoing investigation,” Toomey said, adding that investigators have been speaking with numerous guests and other witnesses and “chasing down all leads.”

Toomey said anyone who may have information but hasn’t spoken with investigators yet is urged to call the Fire Marshal’s office at 223-4289.

All three men extended their gratitude to the Red Jacket staff, other area hotels and resorts for offering to take in displaced Red Jacket guests, and local and area residents and businesses for coming to their aid.

“We’re truly humbled by the spirit of giving in this community,” Grimes said. “You can’t imagine what it means to us here at Red Jacket.

“And I’m incredibly proud of our team,” he added.

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