The Fire at the De Soto Hotel: What’s the haunted hotel’s fate now?

When I heard about the fire at the De Soto Hotel, I felt like it wasn’t that long ago I wrote something else about it. A quick site search revealed I was right. Last year the “paranormal crown jewel” of El Paso, as KFOX14 put it, made news when it was listed for sale.

I don’t think it ever sold, though. KVIA reported Rogelio Gonzalez purchased the hotel in 2019 and had recently been approved for grants to make improvements to the building.

Will Gonzalez get to keep the grants? Is the De Soto even salvageable or will it have to be demolished? And how did the blaze even start in the abandoned building?

A couple of these questions may be answered when the El Paso Fire Marshal’s Office completes its investigation of the fire. For now, let’s quickly recap what happened and review the hotel’s haunted history.

The De Soto Hotel Fire

A fire broke out in the De Soto Hotel on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. As mentioned above, the total extent of the damage isn’t known, but WOAI reported the upper floors were totally destroyed.

It was a significant blaze, though. The El Paso Fire Department Tweeted that 74 firefighters and 24 units responded to put it out.

Last night, 70 firefighters and 24 units responded to a Condition 4 Fire at the DeSoto Hotel.

Crews knocked down the fire and prevented it from spreading to other buildings. No injuries were reported.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office. pic.twitter.com/53KDzPuJWx

— El Paso Fire Department (@EPTXFire) February 5, 2022

The De Soto Hotel’s Ghosts

The cool thing about the hotel, and why it really is a loss for the paranormal world, is that it embraced its hauntings. El Paso Ghost Tours gave haunted tours of downtown El Paso and told about the city’s “architecture, historic figures, and gunfights.” The tour would conclude with a paranormal investigation inside the hotel.

But perhaps what fascinated people most was the basement, which many felt was the site of dark energy. Allegedly, satanic rituals were conducted down there and people would report aggressive physical experiences like being touched, scratched, and pebbles being thrown at them.

No wonder it drew the attention of Zak Bagans. Ghost Adventures investigated it in season 12, episode 6.

Speaking of Zak though…

Will Zak Bagan display anything from the De Soto in his museum?

KLAQ made an interesting observation. They shared a Facebook post from the Ghost Adventures page that had acknowledged the fire.

But it was the comments that drew their interest. Some suggested Zak should get something from the hotel to put in his museum.

Will he? Who knows. If he did, maybe he’d take something from the basement?

De Soto Hotel Documentary

Just about every article I read on the fire mentioned paranormal investigator Colin Browen. Who, incidentally, many also credited with calling the haunted hotel “the crown jewel of paranormal in Texas” when they referenced him.

Only the week before, on Jan. 25, he’d been in the hotel filming its haunted history. Before Feb. 4, the question may have been, “Did he catch any cool paranormal activity?” Now the question may be, “Is his footage the last record of the hotel intact before the fire? And will it be one of the last ways to tour it and get a glimpse inside?”

There was no word about what his film will be called, when it will be released, or on what platform, but it definitely now owns a unique claim to fame.

I’ll keep an eye out for it and if I see any news about that, I’ll of course share it.

Check-In

Have you ever been to El Paso?