Fire strikes historic Timberline Lodge ski resort on Oregon's Mount Hood

Mike Heuer
·2 min read
Firefighters are shown containing a tree-alarm blaze at the historic Timberline Lodge Thursday night on Oregon's Mount Hood. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department
Firefighters are shown containing a tree-alarm blaze at the historic Timberline Lodge Thursday night on Oregon's Mount Hood. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department

April 20 (UPI) -- Fire officials say fireplace embers likely triggered a three-alarm blaze at the historic Timberline Lodge on Oregon's Mount Hood, made famous by its appearance in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film "The Shining."

The fire temporarily closed the resort on Thursday night but didn't penetrate the hotel's interior, Timberline Lodge marketing director John Burton told Oregon Public Broadcasting.

It was likely was caused by embers from the main fireplace in the lodge's main house,

The fire flared up around 9:30 p.m. local time, prompting responses from the Clackamas, Hoodland, Gresham, Estacada and Oregon State fire departments.

"The fire at Timberline Lodge was declared under control at 11:12 p.m.," Clackamas Fire officials posted on X. "The fire was kept to the roof [and] part of the attic [and] didn't spread any further."

Although fire damage was limited to the Timberline Lodge's attic and roof, the extent of water damage from fire hoses is unknown. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department/X
Although fire damage was limited to the Timberline Lodge's attic and roof, the extent of water damage from fire hoses is unknown. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department/X

Lodge employees unsuccessfully tried to put out the fire with fire extinguishers and called for help around 9:30 p.m., KATU-TV reported.

Firefighters arrived within 20 minutes and contained the fire to the lodge's attic and roof. Although the fire damage was limited to the attic and roof, water damage from fire hoses also occurred.

Embers from the main house fireplace are thought to have started the fire at the Timberline Lodge Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department
Embers from the main house fireplace are thought to have started the fire at the Timberline Lodge Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Clackamas Fire Department

The lodge and adjacent ski area were closed Friday while the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives investigated the fire's cause.

Burton told OPB the ski area and day lodge likely would reopen Saturday and the hotel on Sunday.

The 55,000-square-foot Timberline Lodge, located about 55 miles southeast of Portland, Ore., was built in 1937 on the south slope of Mount Hood at an elevation of 6,000 feet. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.

But its greatest claim to fame is serving as the fictional Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's classic filming of the Steven King novel The Shining.