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Crews are on scene fighting an active fire in downtown Victoria on Saturday morning.
The first call came in at 3:50 a.m. PT reporting a fire at 760 Queens Ave., according to Colleen Mycroft, a media relations manager with the City of Victoria.
She said multiple callers reported visible flames from the low-rise apartment building, and crews arrived on scene to find balconies from the first floor to the third floor on the front side of the building on fire.
Mycroft said firefighters are in defensive operations with three aerial apparatus attacking the flames.
Firefighters from Saanich have joined to help.
A screengrab from a video submitted to CBC shows a large plume of smoke coming from downtown Victoria. (George Hamilton)
The building was formerly the Traveller’s Inn, which was severely damaged by a structure fire about 10 years ago.
The fire has caused the closure of both principal roads heading in and out of downtown Victoria.
Blanshard Street (Highway 17) is closed between Bay Street and Pembroke Street. Douglas Street (Highway 1) is also closed between Bay Street and Princess Avenue.
Victoria police are asking people to avoid the area to give emergency crews space.