Fire caused extensive damage to a Mount Gambier motel room on Sunday afternoon.

The fire started in a ground floor room at the Presidential Motel on Jubilee Highway. The female occupant of the room had to climb through a window to escape, cutting her leg in the process. She was airlifted to Adelaide for treatment.

Motel staff and neighbours used fire extinguishers to tackle the blaze until fire fighters arrived.

Metropolitan-based fire investigators were brought in to examine the scene, with damage estimated at approximately $60,000.