Morrison Ranch in Agoura destroyed by Woolsey fire, adding to list of local mountain landmarks gone
The Morrison Ranch House in Agoura is among the latest casualties of the Woolsey fire, adding to a list of torched historical landmarks beloved by local history buffs and recreationists in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The fire consumed more than 90,000 acres and was 20 percent contained by Monday evening, but not before destroying 370 structures and killing two people, authorities said.
Among those structures, the National Park Service announced Monday, Nov. 12, was the Morrison Ranch House, a property dating back to the 1880s that became a local monument to a bygone area that people loved for its juxtaposition to the modernity developing around it, said Kate Kuykendall, spokeswoman and acting deputy superintendent for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a branch of the National Park Service.
The old ranch house, on Chesebro Road in Agoura, was part of the area’s historic ranching district. Rancher John W. Morrison bought 724 acres in the early 20th century. Its remains — before the fire — included the ranch house, outbuildings and rangeland.
Ultimately, it played rolls in films, such as “Of Mice and Men” and “The Durango Kid.”
The Morrison Ranch House in Agoura Hills, a turn of the century home that reminded us all of a different time, has burned. The house was featured in a number of classic films, such as “Of Mice and Men” and “The Durango Kid.” #WoolseyFire pic.twitter.com/KLIw4FPiZA
— Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) November 12, 2018
“For many people who like to hike, bike or ride horses in that area, that whole Chesebro area is really a nice escape from modern life and development,” Kuykendall said. “A look back at what life used to be like.”
MORE: This map shows where the Woolsey fire is burning in LA and Ventura counties
For the ranch house, that ended with Woolsey, which has also consumed Agoura’s history landmarks like Western Town, and the Peter Strauss Ranch.
Those sites have been managed by the National Park Service, whose employees took their own hits during the fire.
Three National Park Service residences burned, displacing the families who lived in the properties sprinkled in the Santa Monica Mountains area.
The Park Service also lost its joint research station with UCLA, saw its Rocky Oaks area scorched, along with its corresponding archive of the area, and its Arroyo Sequit, a remote Park Service site in the mountains, Kuykendall said.
All told so far, 86 percent of the National Park Services’s portion of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was damaged by the blaze, Kuykendall said.
The park will remain closed until officials can assess its safety and the damage.
“We do ask for patience as we assess and consider next steps to move on,” she said.