NORWAY – Fire of undetermined origin badly damaged the Ledgewood Motel on Route 26 early Saturday afternoon. No one was hurt.

Out-of-state relatives of students graduating Saturday night from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School were staying at the 18-unit motel, owned by Gay Cooper, when the fire was discovered around 1:30 p.m.

They said the manager came banging on their doors, telling them to get out, that a fire had broken out.

Within 10 minutes, billowing clouds of smoke rose fast and high into the clear blue sky as soon as firefighters punched through the roof to vent the flames, centered on an area to the right of the motel office.

By the time the fire was brought under control a half-hour later, flames had broken through the roof in two places between an area where the roof had partially caved in.

Norway Fire Chief Mike Mann said he didn’t know what started the fire. He said he would probably be calling in the State Fire Marshal’s office Monday to investigate.

Dolores Robinson, of Cleveland, Ohio, sat poolside at a picnic table, watching the fire in her pajamas. She was staying at an end unit with her son, Russell Robinson, and said she smelled smoke but thought someone was having an outdoor barbecue.

Her son had traveled from Arizona to attend the graduation of his son, Kenneth Robinson.

“I just feel bad for the owners,” said Russell Robinson.

Gay Cooper, also sitting at the picnic table, surrounded by family, declined comment. She and her husband Don, who died several years ago, had operated the motel for more than 40 years.

The south wing of the motel appeared to have escaped without anything more than smoke damage, but the north wing appeared to be a total loss. No financial estimate of damage was available.

Alexa Mann, a graduating senior, stood to one side of the pool with her relatives, who had driven up from Massachusetts and had just checked in 10 minutes before the fire was discovered. Beside her were her aunts, uncle and grandfather.

The grandfather, Vincent Malewicz, said he stayed at the Ledgewood Motel every time he comes to the Oxford Hills to visit. The same was true for Russell Robinson.

It was not immediately known if other people had been staying at the motel Saturday. The entire motel was closed after the blaze.

Around 50 firefighters from four towns helped battle the blaze with engines and ladder trucks, and hoses laid to a hydrant a short distance north on Route 26. PACE ambulance workers stood by to check on firefighters as they rotated in and out of the action.

The fire remains under investigation.