Fire destroys building at Dawson City, Yukon, ball field

A late-night fire at a baseball field in Dawson City has left the concession stand there "probably a write-off," the town's fire chief says.

Firefighters were called shortly before midnight to Minto Park where they found the concession stand "fully involved" by the fire, said Jim Regimbal, Dawson's fire chief.

"We probably had about 15 calls that came in from concerned citizens," he said.

The building front and interior were badly damaged by the fire. Part of the roof collapsed and some nearby tarps melted. 

Regimbal said 15 firefighters and two fire engines responded to the blaze. It took more than two hours to put out the fire. Regimbal said nobody was injured.

Police and fire officials were both investigating the fire Sunday. 

Regimbal said officials weren't able to determine the exact cause of the fire, but that it started near the washrooms. He said the fire is likely not suspicious, but officials are sending samples from the wreckage to a police lab to be analyzed, just to be sure.

The fire did not damage any other buildings, although power was briefly cut to a few neighbouring houses. A weekend softball tournament taking place at the adjacent field went on as scheduled.

The concession stand's days were numbered: town council was already scheduled Tuesday to award a contract for the design of a new building.