Fire causes $500,000 damage to Calistoga Inn

The Calistoga Inn, built more than 100 years ago, was badly burned in a two-alarm fire Tuesday.

The 3:15 a.m. blaze was believed to have started in the attic, said Mike Dunsford, the owner and a Calistoga city councilman.

"It was an electrical fire in the attic that actually originated from, I think, the men's bathroom ceiling fan light," he said. "Everybody was safe and everybody was evacuated."

The 18-room inn at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Highway 29 was 80 percent full when the blaze broke out. Guests were relocated to other area hotels.

When firefighters arrived at the inn, they found flames shooting from the roof, Calistoga Fire Chief Steve Campbell said.

"The Calistoga fire and police department did an outstanding job," Dunsford said. "They got everybody out and put out the fire in fairly short order."

The fire caused about $500,000 damage, Campbell said.

The business, which is home to the Napa Valley Brewing Company and a restaurant, had many reservations for upcoming weddings and rehearsal dinners, according to Dunsford, who has owned the property for 22 years.

About 70 employees will be affected by the temporary shutdown, he said. "I'm a little bit shell shocked," he said.

About a third of the roof was burned and the first and second floors sustained extensive water damage, Dunsford said. "We are out of commission for some period of time, which I am working through," he said.

Dunsford is expected to meet with insurance officials today. A reopening date of Jan. 1 would "be great, if I'm lucky."

"We don't know if the restaurant portion of the business can open sooner rather than later, which is a possibility because the extensive damage" was on the upper floors, he said.

About 20 firefighters responded from Calistoga and the Napa Valley. Despite the early hour, a crowd gathered to watch the firefighting efforts, Campbell said.

You can reach Staff Writers Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com or Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.