The burned out Spanish Trail motel on the southern edge of South Tucson again caught fire this weekend.
A fire in the shell of the former motel, 305 East Benson Highway, burst into flames about 9 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
The Tucson Fire Department assisted South Tucson Fire extinguish the blaze and was on scene by 9:07 p.m.
Because it was a defensive fire attack, the teams extinguished the fire with copious amounts of water from the outside instead of sending fire fighters into the structure.
“It was a building that’s previously dilapidated and previously on fire, so no one should be inside,” said Andy Luna, Captain of the South Tucson Fire Department.
Luna said the clutter and dilapidation from previous fires contributed to the fire conditions.
The abandoned building most recently caught fire in February 2024.
On Monday morning South Tucson Fire went back to the scene to put out various hot spots or reignited flames from the Sunday fire.
The specific cause of the fire is unknown, though investigations are ongoing.
No injuries have been reported.
“It was pretty basic type of fire for the conditions that were there,” Luna said. “So nothing out of the ordinary.”
