A 49-year-old man has been charged with arson after a fire destroyed a room at the Chilkoot Trail Inn Tuesday evening.

He had been renting the room at the time, Whitehorse RCMP Const. Mark Janus confirmed this morning.

Police were called to the hotel at 6:42 p.m. Officers arrived in time to evacuate the hotel and find a locked room with thick smoke coming from it.

They were able to get in the room and determine no one was there.

Just how long the room was empty and when the fire started are part of the ongoing investigation, Janus said.

Whitehorse firefighters were also called to the scene to extinguish the blaze, just a minute after police were notified.

Bob Jacobs, platoon chief for the fire department, said this morning the blaze was contained in the guest room on the main floor with only minor water damage to other parts of the hotel.

Kenneth Algar was set to appear in court this afternoon on a charge of arson.

It was just one part of a busy night for the city's firefighters.

Tuesday also marks the fire department's weekly training session, which meant there were 21 firefighters on-hand.

While 16 crew members were at the hotel fire, the department also received a call to go to Takhini Mobile Home Park and extinguish a smoldering fire under one of the trailers.

After putting out both fires, the department was fully back in service by 9:06 p.m., Jacobs said.