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Timberline Lodge and the ski area are closed Friday in the wake of Thursday night’s fire at the lodge.
Here’s what we know:
The fire: The fire has been completely extinguished and fire personnel are assessing the damage, Clackamas Fire District said. Firefighters from Hoodland Fire, Clackamas Fire, Gresham Fire and Estacada battled the 3-alarm blaze amid high winds.
The fire started around 9:30 p.m. in the attic on the north side of the historic lodge. Employees tried to douse the blaze using fire extinguishers but couldn’t. Firefighters arrived in about 20 minutes and were able to keep the fire contained to the attic and roof, Clackamas Fire said.
The inside of the lodge is soaked; the extent of the damage is not yet known. The lodge is expected to remain closed for at least a few days.
The cause: Embers from the lodge’s main chimney may have sparked the fire, but the cause has not been definitively determined.
Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the fire’s cause.
The guests: There was a wedding party at the lodge Thursday night. All guests and staff escaped the blaze, and there are no known injuries. When fire alarms blared, people raced out of the lodge and congregated in the lower parking lot and the ski-rental building. Many guests were later taken to a resort in Welches for the night. Some guests also ended up at the Best Western Mt. Hood Inn in Government Camp.
Lodge history: The 55,000-square-foot ski lodge was built in 1937 on the south slope of Mount Hood at 6,000 feet elevation. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and attracts nearly 2 million visitors a year, according to the lodge website.
The lodge construction was funded largely through the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps. The design focused on a “central headhouse” with a steep pitched roof and an 800,000-pound stone chimney, flanked by wings for the dining room and guest rooms. It was built in 15 months and dedicated on Sept. 28, 1937, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and a crowd of 1,200.
It opened for overnight guests in February 1938.
The exterior of the lodge was famously used in the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 movie “The Shining,” based on the Stephen King horror novel.
The lodge is now family-run for the U.S. Forest Service.
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