The battle to save Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch from destructive Lake fire
Tucked into a hillside in the Santa Ynez Valley, surrounded by rolling grasslands and wineries, Neverland Ranch has been for years one of the Central Coast’s most notorious properties.
The story of the sprawling former estate of pop singer Michael Jackson took a new turn this week when Neverland Ranch stood in the direct path of a wildfire that’s burned 34,000 acres in Santa Barbara County.
The blaze known as the Lake fire broke out shortly before 4 p.m. on July 5 near Zaca Lake just northeast of Los Olivos, a rural swath known for grape farming and picturesque wineries. The blaze, which has damaged six structures, was 16% contained as of Thursday.
It’s the largest wildfire in California this year and the biggest Santa Barbara County has seen since the destructive 2017 Thomas fire.
A Santa Barbara County wildfire in the mountains above the Santa Ynez Valley has spread to more than 19,000 acres, causing evacuations near vineyards and Neverland Ranch.
The flames — fueled by scorching temperatures and crisp dry grasses that flourished during the rainy season — moved closer to Neverland Ranch on Sunday. But so far the ranch has been spared from damage thanks to fire crews who took up battle positions to prevent the blaze from spreading to the estate and other nearby properties, which include a private high school and wineries, fire officials said.
Crews used bulldozers overnight into Monday to create fire lines roughly the size of a two-lane road by removing flammable brush leading to the properties. Fixed-wing aircraft dropped fire retardant around the area and helicopters assisted with water drops over the weekend, fire officials said.
The fire lines allowed firefighters to “extinguish [flames] immediately using hoses from their engines” as the blaze moved down the hillside, said Kenichi Haskett, a public information officer for Cal Fire.
Firefighters were also aided by Mother Nature. The winds, which in previous days had carried embers creating spot fires that contributed to the blaze’s rapid growth, had subsided slightly over the weekend, reducing the risks facing the properties in Los Olivos.
“It came down less than a mile from [the property],” Haskett said. “We already had firefighters in the area with their engines and their packs ready to go.”
Other areas have faced significant damage.
The blaze has already scorched almost half of the swath of Sedgwich Reserve that the University of California Santa Barbara owns and uses for research. The nearly 6,000-acre site is home to infrastructure that’s at risk of damage including a meteorological flux tower installed as part of research on wildfire prediction, a telescope set to deep space and a seismic array intended to improve earthquake prediction, according to the university.
The Lake fire erupted during a relentless and dangerous heat wave across California that broke temperature records and sent firefighters racing across the state.
Santa Barbara County, typically known for its mild Mediterranean climate, was not spared from the scorching temperatures.
“It’s quite abnormal for that area,” said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, adding that daytime temperatures have been at least 10 degrees above normal.
The Lake fire is burning in rugged terrain in the Los Padres National Forest. It was 8% contained Monday but expected to grow amid a prolonged California heat wave.
A remote automated weather station roughly six miles from Neverland Ranch recorded temperatures on Sunday and Monday in the low 90s. Fire crews can sometimes get the upper hand on blazes with the help of cooler temperatures and higher humidity at night, but the heat continued in the evenings both nights.
On Sunday, the mercury dropped only to 81 degrees overnight. On Monday, it reached only as low as 85, according to the National Weather Service.
Fire activity has largely subsided near the ranch and no structures were lost, said Capt. Scott Safechuck, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
“We had a lot of air support with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft,” Safechuck said. “That whole area was defended very well. We have firefighters remaining in there mopping up and ensuring those hot spots are completely out.”
Michael Jackson purchased the ranch on Figueroa Mountain Road for about $19 million in the late 1980s and transformed the sprawling 2,700-acre estate into an entertainment center with a zoo, a train and amusement park rides. He named it Neverland Ranch after the fictional island home of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up.
But by 2003, Jackson and the property were mired in controversy. Santa Barbara County officials raided the home as part of an investigation into allegations that Jackson sexually abused a minor who visited the home. A jury acquitted Jackson of child molestation charges in 2005.
The pop star, who died in 2009 at age 50, never returned to live on Neverland Ranch after the trial. In 2020, billionaire businessman Ron Burkle purchased the property for $22 million. A spokesman for Burkle, who is co-founder of the investment firm Yucaipa Companies, told the Wall Street Journal at the time that he viewed the purchase as a “land bank opportunity.”
It is not clear if anyone lives on the property, which has been under evacuation orders since Sunday because of the fire.
The estate was recently a location for “Michael,” a film about the king of pop that is expected to be released next year. A permit issued by Santa Barbara County noted that filming was allowed on the property from April 15 to May 1, according to SFGATE.
Production company GK Films posted on Instagram on May 31, announcing it had wrapped production on the film, writing “Thank you to the best cast and crew we could ever ask for! See you soon, Moonwalkers! Shamonnnneee”
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