by Yucheng Tang
posted Dec. 11
Smoke, smoldering flames, and the smells are still there.
The windows are gone. The roof and backside of the mansion are gone. Most of the pink paint on the exterior wall is gone.
And a landmark of Chico is gone.
A fire that happened in the early morning today destroyed the iconic Bidwell Mansion. Chico’s new mayor, Kasey Reynolds, called the early morning fire a “devastating loss” for the city.
“The City of Chico Fire Marshall is working directly with State Parks and state investigators to determine the cause of the fire,” Reynolds said in a statement released by the City of Chico this morning. “As we recover from the loss of our iconic Bidwell Mansion, we’ll continue to rely on the strength of our community to move forward.”
Matt Teague, district superintendent for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks, said the cause of the fire is under investigation and arson could be a possibility.
General John Bidwell, considered the founder of the City of Chico, began construction of the Mansion in 1865 on Rancho del Arroyo Chico. He and his wife Annie Bidwell moved in in late 1868. The Victorian mansion has been visited by scores of Chico residents, visitors and schoolchildren.
A defensive operation
Teague said that Chico State reported the fire first. “They picked up on visual flames in the Mansion from one of their Chico State cameras, and then called City Fire,” Teague said.
Teague said the fire started between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., and began to come under control around 6 a.m. He arrived at the scene around 4 a.m. to find the Mansion fully engulfed. In a photo he took then, orange flames that engulfed the building shot into the sky.
“Even before I got to this structure and saw the actual flame, I could see the sky just lit up orange,” Teague added.
Chico Fire Battalion Chief Jim Lucanic said his firefighters were dispatched at 3:15 a.m. and about 30 arrived, with nine engines and two trucks. “It was a defensive operation,” Lucanic said. “Because it was fully involved, we decided to go defensive. So that means surrounding it and knocking the fire down from the outside.”
“It’s deemed too dangerous to go inside because of the potential for collapse. So we stand out, we get out of the collapse zone, and we try to get the fire knocked down, so it doesn’t spread anywhere else.”
The whole backside of the mansion and the roof collapsed in, Lucanic said.
The fire that gutted the Mansion
Teague noted the Mansion was a combination of wood and brick with combustible flooring. “The entire roof system was wood frame, the floor systems wood frame, and all the porches and the balconies, and all that were wood,” he said.
“No sprinklers. No plumbing in the building. There is no water in the building,” Teague explained.
Teague said the California State Parks office did not get an alarm call. “One of the things we’re thinking is that the fire may have started in the back, and that’s where our phone line comes in. We’re wondering if the phone line got basically damaged before the alarm could call out.”
“The next plan is to assess it for safety so we can get teams in there to look at it to see and assess the damage,” Teague said shortly before 10 a.m. today. “From here, it obviously looks like a total loss, but we don’t know. We don’t know if rebuilding is possible.”
The sense of loss and the bolt of grief
Teague grew up in Chico. When he got the call just before 4 a.m., it was “a little bit kind of a bad dream feeling.”
The Mansion had been surrounded by scaffolds used for the restoration project that was about halfway completed.
“I’ve known this place all my life, and working for Parks, I’ve invested a lot of my time,” he said. “I’ve worked here for 25 years and I fought for 10 years trying to get the money for this restoration project. So it hurts.”
Lucanic has lived in Chico for 18 years and was also saddened. “It’s a piece of history, and it’s an important landmark in this city,” he said.
Many Chico residents stood on the sidewalk next to the Esplanade or on Sol-Wil-Le-No Avenue next to Big Chico Creek, staring at the remains of the Mansion.
Two students from Chico State, Vincent Evangelist and Brendan Ivey, had just finished their preparation for a presentation and decided to check out the Mansion. They had learned about the fire through an email from the university early this morning.
“I’m a little sad because I never got to go inside,” Evangelist said. “Now I never will, which kind of sucks. It was a state park. It was sort of a staple of the area.”
Larry Wahl, a former Chico City Council member and Butte County supervisor, was among the solemn onlookers. Wahl, 82, has lived in Chico since 1945 and graduated from adjacent Chico State University.
“I played here as a kid,” Wahl said. “I got married in the gazebo. I walk through here and around the Mansion two or three times a week. It’s an integral part of Chico’s history and culture. It’s always been there for all those of us who have lived here. It’s been here almost all my life.”
“It hurts, really does,” he said.
North Valley Community Foundation promptly open a rebuilding fund. Donations are accepted here.
Leslie Layton contributed background to this story, which will be updated as more information becomes available.