Sequoia mountain lodge destroyed by fire. Snow and rain conditions could be to blame
Ponderosa Lodge, a rustic mountain inn, tavern and general store in the southern Sierra, was destroyed by fire on Friday.
Storm conditions may have caused the fire and kept firefighters from accessing the area.
The lodge was in the community of Ponderosa, near the Trail of 100 Giants in Sequoia National Forest east of Porterville.
Pictures and video of the fire were circulating on social media Friday evening. They show flames engulfing a building set back among high mounds of snows. A video, posted to the Friends Who Like Upper Tule Facebook group, shows large flames burning behind a set of pine trees.
The lodge confirmed news of the fire on Saturday.
Per a post on Instagram: “It’s with a heavy heart we announce the lodge is closed indefinitely.”
According to the post, and another by the lodge’s owner (Pondo Dave on Facebook), the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but it appears to be related to a propane line which may have been struck by a large chunk of ice that melted and fell from the lodge’s roof.
The property was uninsured.
In the lodge’s Instagram post, the owners said its insurance had been canceled by its carrier during the fire season and they had been unable to get a new policy in place. A GoFundMe has been set up and has raised nearly $40,000.
“We put our heart, soul and everything we had into this lodge. We are truly devastated and heartbroken to say the least.”
In an email to The Bee, David Sharp, who owns Ponderosa Lodge with his wife Jen, said the roads to the lodge were not accessible “and basically compromised below as well as above.”
“We could not get the necessary help to save the lodge.”
Ponderosa Lodge was built in the 1960s and had become a fixture in the area under several different owners. Among those who frequented the lodge was the author T.C. Boyle, who shared news of the loss on Twitter.
“Turn the page: the Ponderosa Lodge is no more,” he wrote.
“I just learned that it burned down during the snowstorm when firefighters couldn’t get there to save it. The place gave the mountaintop its life and for nearly half a century it sustained me and Frau B. and our children and friends.”
Sequoia mountain lodge destroyed by fire. Snow and rain conditions could be to blame
