Cooking rags ignite, lead to evacuation of Duluth hotel

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) Authorities say a basket of rags that caught fire led to the brief evacuation of a hotel in Duluth.

Gwinnett County fire officials say the blaze happened around 2:30 a.m. Monday at the Hilton Garden Inn on Sugarloaf Circle in Duluth. Authorities say fire crews found a smoldering basket of cooking oil rags that caught fire. The blaze was extinguished by the hotel's sprinkler system.

Officials say about 60 people were evacuated as firefighters investigated, and that guests and hotel workers were soon able to return inside.