Aspen Mountain was closed to skiers this morning due to a fire that broke out at the Sundeck restaurant.
The Aspen Fire Protection District received a call for a smoke alarm in the Sundeck restaurant on Aspen Mountain Thursday morning. The call came in at 7:27 a.m.
Aspen Fire was dispatched at 8:04, and the fire was declared under control by 9:17 a.m. Lifts were reportedly reopened by 10:00 a.m.
The fire was contained to the interior walls of the building, according to Aspen Fire.
Daniel Palmer, the Aspen Fire battalion chief, said the department was immediately in touch with Aspen Skiing Company personnel to assess the situation.
"In the past, there's been a lot of false alarms with cooking errors," he said.
An Aspen Mountain ski patroller, who also works as a firefighter for the Aspen Fire Department, was one of the first people on scene. She confirmed that there was smoke in the building and a fire in one of the walls.
Fire crews were dispatched and used the gondola to reach the top of the mountain.
Meanwhile, it was a powder day, and the base area was crowded with prospective skiers and riders.
Palmer said the timing of the incident was lucky: the lifts weren't open yet.
“A different time of the day, I think this would have been a very different situation," he said, adding that if the fire had occurred at lunchtime, it would have required a very different response.
Aspen One says the Sundeck will be closed on Friday while the company assesses what repairs are needed. It will provide food and beverages at an outdoor grill instead.
The full extent of the damage and the exact cause of the fire are currently under investigation.