Restaurant at historic Lucia Lodge in Big Sur burns down

BIG SUR, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Big Sur Fire crews confirm the restaurant at the historic Lucia Lodge in Big Sur has burned down.

Fire crews say the fire sparked around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and when they got there they saw flames coming through the roof of the restaurant.

Firefighters say they were able to stop the fire from spreading towards the general store section of the building.

“I remember driving up and just seeing this silhouette of the chimney and fog and just realizing, oh my God its gone. Like this landmark that has been a part of my life, my entire life," Bree Harlan, South Coast Representative for the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council.

The restaurant at Lucia Lodge has been in Bree Harlan's family for decades. Harlan's grandparents ran it for years, followed by her father, then uncle, to current owner and cousin Ken Harlan. But early Wednesday morning came as a shock.

“I can tell ya, waking up smelling smoke and seeing that red glow right there; wow! I just like, I just completely freaked out. I was terrified,” continued Bree Harlan.

Harlan considers themselves lucky. Nobody was in the building at the time, and the cabins just around the corner survived. As far as the restaurant and kitchen, that will have to be rebuilt, if her cousin and owner decides to do so. 

The restaurant isn't just a loss for the Harlan Family, but also the Big Sur South Coast Community. There's not many places down Highway 1 between Gorda and the Coast Gallery. Making Lucia Lodge a critical location and stop for food, groceries and public restrooms.

"Not having that available will really reduce the amount of opportunities that residence and visitors will be able to have to get those needs," Kirk Gafill General Manager at Nepenthe Restaurant and President of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.

But, Big Sur is known for its resilience, bouncing back time and time again from debris flows, wildfires and closed of portions of the highway. After surviving all that, this restaurant's fire makes it that much more heartbreaking.

Crews do not know the cause of the fire as that is under investigation at this time. Bree Harlan speculates it could be old electrical, in the building the stood for nearly 90 years.