Over 1,000 guests evacuated after power outage at Clearwater Hilton

UPDATE: The Hilton confirmed to FOX 13 power has been restored at the hotel, however it will not be checking people in, until tomorrow. 

PREVIOUS: The Clearwater Beach Hilton Hotel will remain closed until electrical repairs made Tuesday are inspected by an electrical engineer. 

The 425 room hotel was evacuated around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday after a small electrical fire knocked out its power and its backup generator. 

Some guests said the hotel helped arrange stays at other nearby hotels.  Guests arriving for check-in Tuesday afternoon reported a different experience. 

"They told us to try availability at the Holiday Inn and they've given us a card to try them," said Deborah Cassidy of Great Britain. "No guarantee, no kind of room rates or anything, we don't know."

The Hilton has so far declined to comment on the incident, referring reporters to Clearwater Fire and Rescue. 

A fire official said water got into a conduit containing wiring for the hotel's main power line and the backup generator.  The fire "self-extinguished" within a couple of minutes, and was confined to a small structure outside of the hotel, so there was no damage to guest areas.  No one was injured.

Most beach hotels are heavily booked at this time of year, and none of those FOX 13 news spoke with had more than a handful of vacancies.  The Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce claimed other properties pitched in to help the Hilton relocate guests.