District 3 firefighters made it to the blaze within minutes because they had just responded to a power outage that knocked out services to several businesses along Route 3.

State Police and area fire police tried to manage the steady flow of traffic, which at one point came to a lengthy standstill.

Route 3 remained closed from the Interstate 87 exchange to Sorrell Avenue and traffic was backed up for more than a mile on Rugar Street, where officials had the Consumer Square entrance blocked.

Traffic was backlogged on other streets, including Tom Miller Road, for most of the afternoon.

Drivers said it took more than an hour to inch through that area.

Within two hours of when the fire sparked, almost every fire department in the county was somehow involved with the efforts, whether they were at the fire or providing standby support. Ewing estimated that 80 percent of the county’s resources were somehow involved.

At least a dozen fire departments were at the blaze, including City of Plattsburgh and Keeseville crews who brought their aerial trucks to help attack the blaze from the roof, where flames leapt into the afternoon sky for more than three hours.

Hotel employees later rounded up the displaced occupants and helped get them to temporary refuge where they were being assisted by officials from the Red Cross.

Several ambulances were also in the area, though no serious injuries are believed to have been reported.

There were more than 100 guest rooms in the hotel, though it was unclear how many were occupied when the fire sparked.

— Contributing Writer Ryan Hutchins Contributed to this report.