The UF team bus (center right) sits on Steel Bridge in downtown Portland while firefighters deal with a blaze.
Gators Ran Past Stanford, Then Walked to Hotel
Friday, November 24, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Firefighters blocked the bridge on UF's return route from the Gators' PK80 game late Thursday.
But getting from the game to the team hotel wasn't supposed to be as difficult as it was late Thursday night.
A three-alarm fire in a commercial building in an area known as Old Town along the Willamette River blocked the route of the bus carrying the Gators from Veterans Memorial Coliseum back to the their hotel following the 108-87 win over Stanford in the PK80 Invitational. At least eight emergency vehicles were set up at the base of the Steel Bridge, blocking all traffic and leaving the UF bus stuck on the bridge with no way to re-route.
After idling for about 30 minutes and talking to on-site emergency officials, the Gators and members of their traveling party got off the vehicle and walked back to the hotel, about seven-tenths of a mile.
Thankfully, it wasn't raining nor particularly cold.
The players, most of them still in uniform, were instructed to take a longer and safer way back, given the time of night. They got to the hotel around 11 p.m. local, thus cutting into whatever rest-time advantage the No. 7-ranked Gators (4-0) may have had over their next opponent, 17th-ranked Gonzaga (4-0), which was playing Ohio State in the PK80 Motion bracket nightcap at the time. That game ended around 12:30 a.m. PST.
According to The Oregonian, Portland Fire responded to a commercial blaze at the site, with the first crews to arrive reporting a fire at the rear of the building on both the second and third floors. Flames could be seen coming out of several windows. The area is a popular one for the homeless, but officials said the location was vacant at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
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