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Disney Christmas tree fire forces evacuation

A 35-foot Christmas tree caught fire early Wednesday in the lobby of the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 guests, officials said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A 35-foot Christmas tree caught fire early Wednesday in the lobby of the Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel, forcing the evacuation of more than 2,000 guests, officials said.

No one was injured except for a guest who complained of a strained back and another with symptoms of stress.

The sprinkler system kept the 3 a.m. blaze in the artificial tree in check, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out, said Maria Sabol, a spokeswoman for the Anaheim Fire Department.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, she said.

The 745-room hotel in the center of the Disneyland Resort was at full capacity with about 2,300 guests, said Rob Doughty, the resort's vice president of communications. They were evacuated to other locations in and around the park, and hotel officials hoped to get them back into their rooms within a few hours, he said.

Lee Crice, a guest from Phoenix, told KTLA-TV he was awakened by an alarm and saw the top six feet of the tree were ablaze as he fled through the lobby.

The guest with a strained back and the one with stress symptoms were treated at the scene, Doughty said.