Holbrook’s Interim Police Chief Nathan Christenson presented an aerial photo of the damage left by the recent fire that destroyed the Magnuson Hotel on Hopi Drive during the most recent Holbrook City Council meeting on May 22. “Everyone was removed safely from the hotel,” said Christenson, “but unfortunately, the building is a complete loss. The fire got into the attic and spread quickly.”
He stated that firefighters from Holbrook, Winslow, Joseph City, Puerco Valley and Timber Mesa fought the May 20 blaze from 7:30 a.m. until it was finally extinguished at 3 p.m. “We used a whole lot of water to put it out,” remarked Christenson. While the garage behind the Butterfield Stage Co. Restaurant was destroyed, the restaurant and the Change Point building were saved.
In a later interview, Change Point Program Director Gretchen Herndon shared that their building did sustain some damage. “The back patio and bushes were burned, two of the back doors were significantly damaged and two windows were blown out,” said Herndon. “But we were pretty lucky considering the extent of the fire.”
Christenson shared that he requested the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) out of Phoenix for processing the fire. Fire inspectors found the origin of the fire to be a trailer on the southeast corner of the hotel that had also caught fire last year. No cause has been determined as of press time.
The incident was posted on the Holbrook Police Department Facebook page, and Christenson said he has received some tips from that post which pointed toward transient activity. He is working to set up an award through the WETIP Foundation and the Navajo County RICO Funds for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of the fires for both the Knights Inn on Navajo Blvd. that occurred just one week prior and the Magnuson Hotel.
Christenson requested the council send a letter of thanks to the agencies that responded to the tragedy, which included the fire departments, Arizona Department of Transportation for the loan of the water tender, the Emergency Response Team from Joseph City for providing food and water to the responders, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the Navajo County Probation Department for help with traffic and crowd control.
In the remainder of his report Christenson noted that since he started as Interim Chief on May 14, he has been working to literally clean up the department. On May 15, he had a cleaning crew come from the Navajo County Jail to do a deep cleaning of the police building. “Through no fault of the officers, the building was pretty dirty,” said Christenson, who has now scheduled weekly cleanings. “The officers are overworked from the long hours and this gives them a break from having to take out the trash and do the clean up.”
Additionally, Christenson is implementing a monthly reporting system used by the Sheriff’s Office to create reports of daily activity, major crimes and future events. The report will be provided to the city manager and the council. He also removed the black-out paint designed police unit from service, stating, “My belief is that we need to be seen, plus seeing a marked unit helps to deter crime.”
