Hearst Castle threatened by fast-moving Chimney Fire

[Zorro]

The Chimney fire, a 17,000-acre fire in San Luis Obispo County, is threatening Hearst Castle and the buildings around it, Cal Fire authorities said Saturday afternoon.

The fire was headed toward the national historic landmark and the leading edge was just two miles away, said Emily Hjortstorp, Cal Fire spokeswoman. Crews are expecting winds of up to 20 miles per hour, but the fire isn’t traveling especially fast, she said.

Bulldozers, trucks and firefighters are digging containment lines around the castle, Hjorstorp said. No evacuation orders have been issued for the area, she said.

“It is fire, and it is traveling in that direction, but it’s not raging the way it has been in the past,” Hjortstorp said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hearst-castle-threatened-20160820-snap-htmlstory.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Omigod!

That IS a treasure.

I'm sure they will do everything they can to keep it safe.

[scscholar]

2. It's 250 miles from downtown SF and so much gas is wasted...

in tourists going there. Is its existence really a positive?

[radical noodle]

3. Shut down NASCAR

before museums and parks. JMHO.

[scscholar]

4. Great point about NASCAR. They drive 500 miles each car each race! (ntxt)

[radical noodle]

6. At the speeds they travel and the way they perform

I wonder how much fuel per car is burned?

[Travis_0004]

5. Yes

I guess now would be a bad time to tell you that Im flying 5000 miles for vacation next month?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Um........YES. It is. You should visit.

Here are some photos to show you why:

[SunSeeker]

9. Thank you CaliforniaPeggy. Hearst Castle is indeed a treasure.

It is a standing monument to the excesses of William Randolph Hearst, but more important, an incredible museum of priceless art and artifacts from all over the world, that today could never be assembled like that in one place.

http://hearstcastle.org/history-behind-hearst-castle/art/

[hunter]

8. Think of all the gasoline wasted commuting...

... to and from crappy jobs that are not making the world a better place.

(BTW, my wife and I, by some planning and greater good fortune, abandoned the automobile commuter lifestyle long time ago.)

I loathe automobiles more than most anyone else, my $800 mid 'eighties car covered with lichen and spiderwebs is a big "Fuck you!" to automobile culture everywhere whenever I have to drive it. But I don't propose we abandon positive travel experiences first when it's our entire fossil fueled heavily industrial society that is destroying the entire ecosphere.

The beautiful things are not the problem. Maybe Hearst Castle inspires people to create art, maybe the amazing elephant seals at nearby Año Nuevo State Park inspire people to protect the oceans.

Once we solve the basic problem of too many fossil fueled vehicles everywhere then the negative aspects of travel to Hearst Castle go away. Until then, it's a negligible part of the problem.