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| Will Rogers' Western Ranch House was on the National Register of Historic Places. California State Parks |
Sonja Anderson | January 9, 2025
The raging wildfires in the Los Angeles area have so far killed five people, spreading over almost 30 square miles. The fires are the city’s most destructive to date: More than 2,000 structures have burnt down, including homes, businesses and historic buildings.
According to a Wednesday statement by California State Parks, fires that spread through Will Rogers State Historic Park engulfed the eponymous 1930s actor’s ranch house. And blazes that swept through Topanga State Park destroyed the iconic Topanga Ranch Motel—once owned by 20th-century newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. State park employee residences at Topanga and Will Rogers parks were also razed by these blazes belonging to the Palisades Fire, which ripped through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, west of downtown Los Angeles.
“California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,” says State Parks director Armando Quintero in the statement. “We are directing all available resources into the emergency response effort and working to secure and protect as much as we can at affected nearby state parks.”
Rogers was a cherished renaissance entertainer: movie star, radio personality, writer, philanthropist, aviation enthusiast and “cowboy philosopher;” the parks department referred to him as “America’s most beloved citizen.” Born in 1879 as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in territory that later became Oklahoma, Rogers traveled the world before purchasing land in the Palisades in the 1920s. By the time Roger died in 1935, he’d developed a sprawling ranch on his 359-acre property. The estate included a 31-room mansion, houses for guests, stables and corrals, a golf course and horse-riding trails. In 1944, Rogers’ wife, Betty, donated the property to California, and it became a historic park.
The estate included a mansion, stables and horse corrals. California State Parks
State park employees were able to evacuate the ranch’s horses and some artifacts, including pieces of art, from Rogers’ ranch. But the fires destroyed the entire building, save some stone chimneys and walls. As Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. says in a statement, “Rogers is among our most beloved Cherokees and a legacy of our people.” He lauded the protectors of the Will Rogers ranch, who have preserved history over the years.
As of Thursday afternoon, first responders have made gains battling the Sunset Fire, which forced residents of the Hollywood Hills to evacuate, per the Los Angeles Times. Extreme wind speeds have contributed to the fires’ spreading. As Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said at a Wednesday press conference, “We are absolutely not out of danger yet.”
Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in New York City.
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