Historic Hearst Castle Threatened by CA Wildfire

Historic Hearst Castle was bathed in smoke Monday as firefighters made a stand against a blaze that raced across dry timber and grasslands in San Luis Obispo County and came within a couple of miles of the tourist destination.

The castle at San Simeon was one of almost 1,900 structures threatened by the 33,173-acre Chimney Fire, which ignited Aug. 13 and destroyed 52 homes and other buildings. More than 2,400 people were evacuated as flames blackened more than 50 square miles, but lower temperatures were helping firefighters, according to Hearst officials and the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

By Monday afternoon, the fire was 35 percent contained and no longer moving toward the estate, which remained closed to visitors, officials said.

Hearst Castle workers joined the effort to save the hilltop mansion, built by the late newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. The 128-acre monument to opulence was completed in 1947 after almost three decades of construction. It became a state park after Hearst Corp. donated the land in 1957.

Staff members covered windows and placed towels under door frames to prevent smoke damage to the 25,000 artifacts and works of art inside. They also cleared brush on the grounds.

The palace grounds are surrounded by Hearst Ranch, which is still owned by Hearst Corp., the parent company of The Chronicle.

“Our efforts, combined with the weather, are contributing to the delay of the fire’s movement,” said Stephen Hearst, vice president and general manager of Hearst’s Western Properties, referring to ranch staff members working with Cal Fire.

“What we’re trying to do is give them enough space on the property so they can set backfires” to burn away dry fuels, he said. “I’m optimistic they are holding lines.”

Hearst, the great-grandson of William Randolph Hearst, said 15,000 acres of the 83,000-acre property had been burned, including six to eight structures, which he described as mostly hunting camps and back country cabins.

“The fire has been burning in and around a number of other structures,” said Hearst, whose staff was building containment lines, herding cattle away from the flames using helicopters, and manning the Hearst air strip for Cal Fire air tankers.

“We’re defending it with everything we’ve got,” he said. “We’re very busy doing everything we can to support them, and we will continue to do so.”

Hearst said the fire was burning the eastern portion of the ranch, which is mostly uninhabited wildlands, so the losses have been kept to a minimum.

“We’re always optimistic, but every day is a different turn and the weather changes,” he said. “Eventually, it will run out of things to burn and we’ll get the fire out.”

The Chimney Fire was one of several major blazes burning in the state as 10,000 firefighters worked around the clock.

Just up the coast, the Rey Fire in the coastal mountains of Big Sur had destroyed 57 homes and 11 other buildings by Monday and was threatening 400 more homes after an illegal campfire got out of control. It was 20 percent contained.

A 37-square-mile blaze was threatening campgrounds and recreation areas in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara. As of Monday, it was only 20 percent contained.

Meanwhile, in the southern Sierra Nevada, 13 small communities were evacuated as a fire raged through dead timber killed by bark beetles in the Sequoia National Forest in Kern and Tulare counties.

The Soberanes Fire, in Monterey County north of Big Sur, was 60 percent contained Monday. It had burned 86,294 acres.

Firefighters were getting a handle on an explosive blaze that destroyed 105 homes in Cajon Pass and the San Gabriel Mountains, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. And a suspected arson fire that destroyed 189 homes last week in and around Lower Lake, in Lake County, was 95 percent contained.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pfimrite

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