Joe's Airport Lodge at mile 1095 was destroyed in the early hours of Saturday morning from a fire of undetermined origin. The blaze appeared to have broken out in the vicinity of the furnace room.
It was spotted in time to permit all guests and staff to escape but nothing in the way of personal belongings was saved, One tourist was said to have jost two thousand dollars in the fire.
There were nine guests in the 10-room roadhouse at the time of the fire - five adults and four children. Present owner is Al Calford but he and Mrs. Calford were planning on going out for the winter with Ken Fehr operating the premises during that time.
Mr. Fehr, whose highway property "God's Little Acre” burned earlier this year, was staying at the Airport Lodge.
Mr. Calford's car was burned in the fire that swept through the "H" shaped building. The power house and garage adjacent to the lodge were not burned, however storage cabins near the main building went up in smoke.
The lodge contained a cocktail bar and cafe as well as rooms. Replacement cost of the building has been estimated at about $50,000 which is understood to be partly covered by insurance, Original owner was Joe Chouinard. The lodge was built from wartime buildings near one of the northwest staging route airports.
