The glow from a large fire that destroyed the home on the old Vanderbilt estate on Stewart Springs Road last week could be seen as far away as Old Highway 99.
No one was injured in the fire, but an estimated $5 million in damages were reported to the approximately 9,000 square foot historic home, according to Suzi Brady, CAL FIRE public information officer.
Only tall stone chimneys remain of the once-sprawling home that was visited in the 1950s and ’60s by celebrities including John Wayne, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, as well as President Harry Truman.
The fire was reported just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3. The owner was already outside the residence when emergency personnel arrived.
Built by George Washington Vanderbilt III in 1949, Shadow Valley Ranch boasted four bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a three car garage, a library and a pub room with a bar, according to a real estate listing in Forbes magazine in 2001.
According to onlookers on Monday afternoon, only tall stone chimneys remain of the once-sprawling home.
Weed City Fire Department’s engine 1210 was first on the scene Tuesday evening. Captain Dennis Campbell said the house was fully involved and consumed in flames when firefighters arrived, and could see the fire’s glow from the main road.
Sixty firefighters from the Weed Fire Department, CAL FIRE, Mount Shasta City Fire Department, South Yreka Fire Department, and the fire districts from Hammond Ranch, Mount Shasta, Grenada, Mayten and Lake Shastina Community were dispatched to the scene. Mt. Shasta Ambulance also responded.
The Siskiyou County Arson Team is investigating the source of the fire, Brady said.
