The Brookdale Inn & Spa caught fire on Tuesday. The ‘Haunted’ hotel and restaurant is completely engulfed by smoke and sky-high flames. At 5:30 the first fire report was registered. The front side seems to be okay yet but the back part is almost invisible.
The lodge has been charming many Hollywood stars despite its kind bad history as well as its reputation of a ‘Haunted’ hotel. Countless people have seen the ghost of six year old Sarah Logan, the niece of the lodge’s owner H.J. Logan, who was drowned in the Creak.
Surrounded by the beautiful gigantic coastal mountain redwoods of Santa Cruz, the two-story section which consists of apartments in the main building is on fire so far. It has been reported that both Structure and Cal Fire crews (more than 100) along with Red Cross are in action and trying their best to save whatever is possible. A helicopter and two air tankers have been provided to tackle the situation. The tankers are reported to use fire retardant in order to save the wild land. So far no causalities or injuries have been reported except from minor injuries or bruises to firefighters.
Michele Blum, the recent Manager of the Inn reported that the fire had reached almost where she lives, say two doors away. According to her it’s very sad that the hotel we wished to regain its splendor of 1920, the time of its real glory, is on fire.
She said they were working to restore the hotel to its splendor of the 1920s when it was one of the most popular lodges in the country. The possibility of short circuiting may not be overruled but as per reports the fire started from a vacant room, used to store mattresses or things like that.
Leno Nanez, a bus boy and Sherri Hutchinson, a Brookdale resident, Maggie, Neighbor Carrol Swezy and Dax Kopecky, were among the few who reported that there were 15- to 20-foot flames and plumes of smoke coming from the building at around 5:30 and the nearby trees were already on fire. Under the circumstances, Highway 9 and Clear Creek Road were declared closed.
Sanjiv Kakkar bought this lodge comprising of 46 guest suites in 2007 for $5.3 million from Bill Gilbet. Also there is a Bar and an 80-year old Brook Room restaurant, very popular for Clear Creak which runs through the area.
Brookdale Lodge
