The Morrison Hotel, the famous backdrop for The Doors’ 1970 album named
  after it, was destroyed by a huge fire Thursday while being occupied by
  dozens of homeless squatters.

  Almost 100 firefighters worked for at least two hours from 11 a.m. to
  control the fire at the downtown Los Angeles hotel best known for being
  on the cover of the legendary rock album.

  [1]Morrison hotel on fire from aerial view
  The historic Morrison hotel was engulfed in flamed Thursday morning.
  Citizen

  [2]firefighters with ladder over morrison hotel
  Firefighters battled the flames for nearly two hours before getting the
  fire under control Citizen

  The blaze destroyed the roof of the building now red-tagged as being
  unlivable.

  Henry Diltz, the photographer who shot the album cover, said he was
  “very sad” to see the landmark so badly damaged, telling [3]CBS News
  Los Angeles: “I hope somebody will rebuild it.”

  Soon after the alarm was raised, several dozen homeless people fled the
  building — and fire crews rescued three others from the third floor
  using ladders, a fire department spokesperson [4]told the Los Angeles
  Times. No one was injured.

  Investigators are still looking into whether the squatters may have
  caused the blaze, [5]according to Fox 11

  But the homeless people squatting there have been a constant problem
  for its current owners, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit
  that bought the building in 2022 for almost $12 million to transform it
  into affordable housing.

  “Last week when we cleared the building, there were about 15 [homeless
  people inside],” said Mark Dyer of the foundation.

  “As soon as we secure the building, the homeless come up with power
  tools within hours and just cut the locks off,” he told Fox 11.

  The building was previously used as low-income housing until it was
  vacated in 2008, and had not had any official residents for almost 10
  years. A previous plan to turn it into a luxury hotel was nixed when a
  developer defaulted on a loan, the LA Times said.

  [6]People walking with bags and scooters near morrison hotel
  The building had no official residents for at least ten years and was
  overrun by homeless squatters at the time of the fire. Citizen

  [7]Close up of broken window of hotel
  An investigation into the cause of the fire is still underway. Citizen

  “I personally have never seen a big fire like that,” nearby business
  owner Juan Jose Gutierrez told Fox11.

  [The affordable housing] would have been nice for the community, but
  unfortunately, the building is no more.”

References

  1. file:///tmp/lynxXXXXWDvgkF/L2592085-2106TMP.html
  2. file:///tmp/lynxXXXXWDvgkF/L2592085-2106TMP.html
  3. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/firefighters-battle-downtown-los-angeles-4-story-building-fire/
  4. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-26/dtla-vacant-building-fire
  5. https://www.foxla.com/news/downtown-la-vacant-building-fire
  6. file:///tmp/lynxXXXXWDvgkF/L2592085-2106TMP.html
  7. file:///tmp/lynxXXXXWDvgkF/L2592085-2106TMP.html