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NICE, Calif. — A fire on Tuesday night damaged a building at a famed Northshore winery.
The fire at Ceago Vinegarden, located on Highway 20 between Nice and Lucerne, was dispatched just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Initial reports from the scene indicated one of the structures in the Ceago’s compound of buildings was fully involved when firefighters arrived on scene minutes after the initial dispatch.
Firefighters from Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire responded to the scene. Lakeport Fire sent its ladder truck to assist with the firefighting effort and the Northshore Fire Support Team was dispatched due to the incident being extended.
Ceago’s owner, Jim Fetzer, told Lake County News that his son, Barney, heard a loud boom before discovering the fire in what Fetzer called the “shop” building. Barney Fetzer then ran to his father’s residence shouting, “Fire! Fire!”
The shop building, Jim Fetzer said, is not lived in, but has been used for events. It’s located at the back of the main building and is where Fetzer has plans for a commercial kitchen and restaurant venue.
There was no one in the building. “Everybody’s safe,” Fetzer said.
“You never imagine” an incident like the fire, he said.
The fire, which was kept to the shop building, was reported to be knocked down shortly before 10 p.m., but overhaul continued until early Wednesday morning.
Fetzer has owned the 163-acre property since 2001. He developed a biodynamic winery and farm there which he closed to the public in 2014 when he retired.
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