DAWSON CREEK, B.C. - A historic hotel in the northern B.C. community of Dawson Creek has been destroyed by fire.

The blaze broke out around 5 p.m. Friday evening at the Alaska Hotel and quickly blanketed the downtown in black smoke.

Fire crews and RCMP shut down the city's core to traffic as firefighters battled the blaze.

By 7 p.m., the building's roof had collapsed but crews continued to battle the blaze into the night.

A large fire on the same block burned a video store to the ground last year.