Palisades Fire destroys historic Topanga Ranch Motel, Will Rogers' ranch house

The historic Topanga Ranch Motel, located across from Topanga Beach in Malibu, has been destroyed in the devastating Palisades Fire that began erupting across Los Angeles Tuesday and has so far scorched more than 27,000 acres across the region.

The fire fueled by extreme Santa Ana winds with gusts up to 80 mph "destroyed parts of Topanga State Park, including the historic Topanga Ranch Motel once owned by William Randolph Hearst," California State Parks News said in a news release Wednesday.

“California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,” State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a statement.

Quintero added "all available resources" were being directed towards emergency response effort and the agency was "working to secure and protect as much as we can at affected nearby state parks."

"We are deeply grateful to our parks staff and all partner agencies for their swift actions," Quintero said. "Our top priority remains the safety of the public, our employees and the responders bravely battling the fires.”

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Damages at Topanga State Park

The Palisades Fire that erupted around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday destroyed the Topanga Ranch Motel as well as state park employee residences, according to California State Parks. It also singed Will Rogers’ historic ranch house and other historic buildings at nearby Will Rogers State Historic Park.

While a full assessment of the damages and losses isn’t immediately available, the agency said there have been more than 30 structural losses at Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Park.

History of Topanga Ranch Motel

The bungalow-style Topanga Ranch Motel was built by San Francisco native and millionaire mining engineer William Randolph Hearst in 1929. The 30-room structure, located across from Topanga Beach, once housed Pacific Coast Highway construction workers and later offered an "inexpensive seaside holiday vacation retreat for families and writers," according to California State Parks. The motel was also a popular location for film and television.

State Parks acquired the motel in 2001 and plans to restore 20 of the cabins for public use again were underway in recent years.

Other landmarks and historic sites damaged by the recent fires include Palisades Charter High School, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, Theatre Palisades and The Reel Inn.

This story was updated to fix a misspelling.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Palisades Fire destroys Topanga Ranch Motel, Will Rogers' ranch house