(FOX40.COM) -- The process of tearing down the historic Hotel Marysville is underway, as demolition crews remove the upper levels of the burned-up building.

* Video Above: Historic Marysville hotel destroyed by flames

On June 15, the Linda Fire Protection District responded to reports of heavy smoke coming from the second and third floors of the vacant hotel building at 420 5th Street in Marysville. Within about an hour, small flames turned into a fiery scene and the hotel became a total loss.

Shortly after, disputes ensued between the City of Marysville and the hotel's owners about who would be financially responsible for cleaning up the mess. Amid the back-and-forth, a panel of case examiners ordered the owners to demolish the building. The City followed up with a lawsuit that resulted in a $700K settlement and acquisition of the property.

Hotel Marysville is scheduled to be demolished on Dec. 11, according to JM Environmental, Inc., a hazardous material removal and demolition company in charge of overseeing the project. Over the last few days, they have been knocking down bricks from the fifth floor as a safety precaution.

"We're hand-chipping away down to the fifth floor to where the building is more stabilized," JM Environmental project manager Douglas Stephens told FOX40.com. "We're going around and safeing off the building - getting anything that was hanging or anything that when we go to start munching, the kinetic energy in that building doesn't make something fall somewhere else that we don't want to fall right now."

He added, "This is all prep right now, but Wednesday is when the big show gets put on and the big machines will be here."