Blazes Hit Byron Hot Springs House in California

A Victorian-era carriage house on the famed Byron Hot Springs property burned to the ground early Monday, fire officials said.

The fire broke out about 1 a.m. and also burned the historic four-story hotel that developers plan to refurbish, but the damage was not as bad as the carriage house, said Contra Costa Fire Inspector Randy Champion.

The hotel's porch burned and the roof caught fire, but about 50 firefighters were able to contain the blaze before it did more damage to the red-brick and masonry structure.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. Firefighters were still on scene around 10 a.m. Monday, watering down charred ground and blackened palm trees. Workers returned to the scene at about 4 p.m. to put out another small fire that burned a shed and some grass. The flare-up was contained within 30 minutes.

Developer East Bay Associates has been working for the better part of a decade on plans to turn the property into a golf course, spa and hotel much like it had been during its heyday in the early 1900s.

The house that burned -- called the Mead House after the person who built it -- was going to become the new Byron museum, said David Fowler of East Bay Associates.

"We're still going to move forward and renovate. The house will be rebuilt exactly as it was," he said.

No one was injured in the blaze, and officials are investigating the cause.

Champion said vandals and teens riding motocross bikes on the property had caused problems in recent months. A gate to the property is locked, but people have been able to get through it, he said.

He estimated the damage at $750,000. Fowler said the fire will end up costing his company about $2 million.

Distributed by the Associated Press