Flames destroyed part of a west-central Saskatchewan truck stop early Tuesday morning.

RCMP were called to a Highway 16 truck stop near Paynton, Sask. around 2:30 a.m. The restaurant portion of the business was engulfed in flames when officers arrived, Mounties said in a media release.

The motel side was not on fire and police activated their sirens in an attempt to wake anyone in the motel. Officers then knocked at each door before entering one room and waking up an employee.

The employee, who was not injured, told RCMP no one else was in the motel.

Fire crews from Paynton and Maidstone also responded. A fire investigator from the province’s fire commission office will be investigating the blaze.

The cause of the flames and a damage estimate are not yet known.

Paynton is located about 60 kilometres northwest of North Battleford.