Authorities said the fire that destroyed Yankee Village Motel on Route 5 in Ascutney this morning was started by a young boy playing with a cigarette lighter.
Ascutney Fire Chief Darrin Spaulding said a “young juvenile found a lighter and started the fire.”
Spaulding said the boy found the lighter behind the motel and touched leaves on fire.
The fire is under control.
Students at the nearby Weathersfield School had to shelter in place, but are being released to go home.
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Ascutney — Firefighters from several Upper Valley towns are battling a motel fire along Route 5 in Ascutney.
The fire has destroyed the Yankee Village motel along Route 5, and crews have called in firetrucks from such towns as Claremont and Springfield, Vt.
All occupants of the motel got out safely, officials said at the scene.
Flames and columns of smoke were billowing out of the motel. Firefighters also had to deal with a brush fire in a residential neighborhood behind the motel when they arrived on scene this morning.
Superintendent David Baker said the nearby Weathersfield School lost power and phones at about noon, but service returned about 12:45 p.m. Students were told to shelter in place; a regular dismissal time is scheduled at 2:30 p.m., Baker said at the scene.
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Posted online Monday at 12 p.m. Updated at 12:45 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. Find a full report in Tuesday’s Valley News.