Fire Moves Away, Hearst Castle Reopens

The State Parks Department reopened Hearst Castle to tours after it was shut down for more than a week over fears from the Chimney wildfire.

The iconic castle and vital tourist attraction was reopened to normal tour schedules on Monday, Aug. 29. It was closed on Aug. 20. The fire started Aug. 13 at Chimney Rock and Running Deer Roads, south of Lake Nacimiento, and had scorched more than 45,000 acres as of Aug. 28. It was still burning out of control in the Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio areas, heading into Monterey County and threatening several small enclaves of homes.

As of the 29th, 49 homes and 21 other structures had been destroyed, and 160 were still being threatened. The fire was 60-percent contained on the 29th, and Cal Fire hoped to have it fully contained on Sept. 3.

During the height of the fire, strong winds pushed the massive flames towards the Coast with San Simeon and the historic Castle squarely in its path. But after a week or so of extreme concern with dozens of fire engines and firefighters preparing to make a strong defense of the Castle and its priceless artworks, the fire stopped short and eventually shot off into the other direction, back towards the northeast.

It did overrun parts of the sprawling, Hearst Ranch, destroying at least one structure there.

For a time, Cambria residents, who live amidst a forest of drought stressed and dead or dying pines trees, held their breath, but the fire never came close to that community.

Some 278 fire engines, 66 water trucks, 14 helicopters, four air tanker planes, 108 hand crews, 45 bulldozers and a total of 3,841 firefighters were working the blaze, as of Aug. 29. It’s one of three fires burning on the Central Coast, including the massive Sobranes fire in Big Sur and the Rey Fire in Santa Barbara County.

Smokey skies have dominated the area with the Air Pollution Control District issuing alerts especially for folks with asthma and respiratory issues.

State Parks said, “Thank you to the many firefighters, other public agencies, and community partners who worked tirelessly to help protect Hearst Castle and its surroundings. The department would also like to thank the public for their patience as it collectively responded to this emergency.”

For information on the Chimney Fire, call (805) 543-2444. Tour reservations at Hearst Castle “are strongly recommended” and may be made online at: www.hearstcastle.org or by call (800) 444 4445.