Calistoga’s Old Faithful Geyser open after fire

Visitors were welcomed back to Calistoga’s Old Faithful Geyser tourist attraction site Wednesday, one day after a fire scorched 8 acres and destroyed a storage building, Cal Fire officials said.

The fire’s cause was still under investigation. It started at about 4:50 p.m. Tuesday in a greenhouse-type building, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Suzie Blankenship. Embers took flight - lifted on an 11 mph wind - and ignited a blaze that raced through grassland on the property’s periphery, but did not reach any of the surrounding homes.

The main grounds of the Tubbs Lane event space, including a geyser as well as gardens, picnic areas and animal pens, were also untouched, according to a post on the company’s Facebook page. The structures that burned were on the periphery of the property and used for maintenance and storage, the company said. A call to the offices at Old Faithful Geyser was not returned.

Cal Fire reported that the fire was contained by about 7 p.m. and caused an estimated $150,000 in damage.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com.

On Twitter @jjpressdem.