Wildfire closes Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley

A wildfire continued to burn on the grounds of Scotty’s Castle at Death Valley National Park in California Wednesday afternoon, but the historic mansion was not damaged.

Park spokeswoman Cheryl Chipman said the blaze broke out at the northern end of the castle grounds Tuesday afternoon. From there, it burned up Grapevine Canyon and away from the castle about 180 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

As of Wednesday morning, the fire had scorched about 26 acres of grapevines, cottonwood trees and brush, forcing the closure of one of the park’s most popular tourist destinations and a portion of the road leading to it.

Flames were 70 feet high at times, Chipman said. Wind blew embers onto a castle outbuilding, but the structure was quickly sprayed with water.

The fire did not grow significantly or threaten any buildings throughout the day Wednesday. It is expected to be fully contained within a day or two, Chipman said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

About 45 firefighters from the Bureau of Land Management in Pahrump and Ridgecrest, Calif., and from the Inyo National Forest in Bishop, Calif., are now on scene, and more personnel were expected today.

Albert Mussey Johnson started building the elaborate, Spanish-style mansion in 1922 as a vacation getaway for him and his wife, but construction was stalled first by a land surveying error and then by the 1929 stock market crash.

The castle got its name after famous prospector and con-man Watler Scott, a.k.a. Death Valley Scotty, began convincing people that he had built it with the proceeds from his various — and wildly exaggerated — gold strikes in the area.

The National Park Service has been conducting guided tours of the mansion since the 1970s.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.