LAS VEGAS — The Monte Carlo hotel-casino will begin reopening on Feb. 15, three weeks after a rooftop fire forced the evacuation and closure of the Las Vegas Strip resort.

Executives announced the plans Friday in a statement. They say employees have been working around the clock to secure portions of the exterior facade that burned in the blaze.

The casino, most shops and restaurants, and 1,200 of the resort's roughly 3,000 hotel rooms will open by that date, in time for the Presidents Day weekend. Another 1,300 rooms will go on line the following week.

The company says about 500 rooms on the uppermost floors will remain closed for a redesign. Several rooms on the top floors were damaged by firefighters as they battled the blaze from below.

Clark County fire officials believe welders working on the roof accidentally started the midmorning fire on Jan. 25. Nearly 5,000 guests and 1,000 employees were evacuated. No one was seriously injured.

Monte Carlo owner MGM Mirage Inc. has not released a damage estimate.