The Oregon hotel made famous by The Shining may be at risk of burning down as one of dozens of wildfires in the state pushes toward the iconic lodge.
The Grasshopper Fire burned over 36,600 acres in Mount Hood National Forest and was only 19 percent contained as of Wednesday morning, edging closer and closer to the Timberline Lodge.
The hotel’s exterior became famous after it was used as the haunted Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s beloved film, and is backdropped by Mount Hood’s snow-covered peaks.
While the legendary lodge is currently under a Level 1 “Be Ready” evacuation notice, the Grasshopper Fire continues to push west toward Mount Hood, leaving locals concerned they may eventually have to evacuate, KATU 2 reported.
The encroaching blaze has left Mt Hood Meadows, a ski resort slightly east of the Timberline Lodge, under a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order, prompting skiers to evacuate Tuesday morning as firefighters work to protect the resort.
The Timberline Lodge said that it will close the hotel if evacuation levels increase to a Level 2.
“Right now, people shouldn’t be traveling around the mountain unless it’s absolutely necessary,” said John Burton, the lodge’s director of marketing and public affairs. “There’s a Level 1 notice on our side of the mountain and a Level 3, which is a mandatory evacuation, around the corner on the other side of the mountain.”
While the lodge is still open, Burton said that the declining air quality due to the fire has driven many visitors away.
“It’s obviously tough on business,” Burton said. “It’s tough on guests. It’s tough on employees when the conditions just aren’t good, when it isn’t comfortable to breathe.”
The fire creeping closer toward Timberline Lodge has even left some longtime employees concerned about the threat.
“It’s definitely scary,” Emma Hall told KATU 2. “Especially all the memories we’ve built up here. A lot of skiers and snowboarders have come up here for the longest time. It’s an epicenter. If anything were to happen, it’d be pretty sad, especially with Meadows being so close.”
The Timberline Lodge is a 55,000-square-foot structure built in 1937. The resort sits at 6,000 feet elevation on the south slope of Mount Hood. There, guests can ski year-round, snowboard, mountain bike or participate in other recreational activities.
There are 70 distinct guest rooms in the main historic building, plus additional European-style chalet rooms. An overnight stay in the lodge costs, on average, runs between $270 and $416 per night, according to the hotel’s website.
The Grasshopper Fire began July 23 following multiple lightning storms over the forest in the weeks before, and spread quickly east and north due to winds and hot and dry conditions, officials said.
As of Wednesday, more than 1,300 personnel were responding to the blaze, which destroyed a century-old fire lookout tower in Mount Hood National Forest on Friday, according to The Oregonian.
Firefighters made significant efforts to save the Flag Point Lookout, the first fire lookout in the area, before fire conditions became too dangerous on Friday, forcing crews to abandon their protection efforts.
However, the Grasshopper Fire is just one of 32 fires currently burning across Oregon, according to KATU 2.
As of Monday morning, those fires accounted for 1,812,575 of the 2,014,481 acres that have burned in the state so far this year.
