A chunk of downtown Edmonton’s Westin Hotel wall came crashing down into the parking lot Sunday morning, snarling traffic and forcing guests and employees out of the building.

Karen Burgess, spokeswoman for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, said a staff member called in around 10:11 a.m. saying a 15- by 20-foot section of the brick facade collapsed into the parking alley. On the inside, a pool was just above where the brick had fallen.

Emergency responders blocked off portions of downtown streets from 101 Street to 101A Street at Jasper Avenue in the event that more of the hotel’s wall came down.

The 251 guests in 72 rooms were told to leave the building.

Charlotte Coulson was in Edmonton as part of the Hockey Canada Century Tour currently at K-Days.

“No one on the team saw the wall collapse but several heard a loud noise in the morning, thinking it was a clap of thunder,” Coulson said. “I did feel the building shake but it wasn’t significant enough that anyone from our team went to check it out.”

Kayla Barrett, with her dog Alfie in tow, said she was at breakfast when she was told to pack her bags.

Her fiance is a banquet manager and the couple originally is from California and will be at the hotel until September.

She said the Westin handled the situation well.

The Westin released a statement stating the hotel will work with local authorities and experts to determine a cause of the collapse.

“Thankfully, there were no injuries this morning when a portion of an exterior wall on the back of the Westin Edmonton collapsed into a parking lot,” the statement read. “All of the hotel’s guests and associates are safe.”

While the hotel had begun to make arrangements for guests to stay at other hotels, by 4 p.m., the structural engineer had declared the falling bricks were superficial and not the result of structural damage.

Guests were then allowed to return.

No one was injured in the incident.

catherine.griwkowsky@sunmedia.ca

@SunGriwkowskyC