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(Salt Lake City-AP) -- A chimney fire last night at the Keyhole Restaurant forced the evacuation of the west wing of Snowbird's Cliff Lodge in the Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Cliff Lodge General Manager Bob Bonar says the fire was quickly extinguished on the lower portion of the chimney. There was NO damage to the restaurant.
That's was good news because snow and the high winds in the canyon made it difficult for emergency crews to get to the lodge. In fact, the high winds were to blame for the fire.
Restrictions were placed on several canyons along the Wasatch front Sunday night -- including Parleys, Little and Big Cottonwood. Vehicles were required to have chains or four-wheel drive.
Officials says the lodge's west wing was evacuated because it does not have a sprinkler system. The lodge was about 35 percent full, so it was easy to accommodate new rooms for guests.
Bonar says most of those displaced for about two hours were vacationers. He says they were wonderful about the mishap, and were excited to get out skiing this morning.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
