Rebuilding of fire-destroyed Mount Charleston Lodge to start in spring

Plans to rebuild the Mount Charleston Lodge are inactive successful the works arsenic wintertime sets successful connected the Spring Mountains, officials said.

Reached Wednesday, the lodge’s operations manager Thomas Schneekloth said rebuilding the upland edifice aft it was destroyed successful a occurrence this autumn is an ongoing process. The lodge’s owners hopes to interruption crushed successful the spring, helium said.

An accidental occurrence destroyed the lodge edifice connected Sept. 17, leaving rubble successful spot of the iconic A-frame restaurant. No 1 was injured. Both tract cleanup and operation beryllium connected the wintertime upwind and the velocity and effectiveness of the proviso chain, Schneekloth said.

“Unfortunately, with wintertime coming successful hard and fast, that’s going to adjacent necktie our hands connected being capable to get immoderate of that done astatine this time,” helium said. “But we are starting to enactment connected plans and we’re optimistic that we’re going to get it each moved retired and interruption crushed successful the outpouring arsenic soon arsenic the upwind cooperates and arsenic soon arsenic the proviso concatenation gets backmost successful line.”

The erstwhile lodge was built successful 1962, though different operation operated determination from astatine slightest 1948 earlier it was destroyed successful a 1961 fire.

Architectural plans for the rebuild person not been made authoritative yet, Schneekloth said. Officials mean to support the accepted A-frame, but update immoderate of the facilities.

The lodge’s neighboring 23 cabins were unaffected by the occurrence and stay open. Schneekloth said the autumn was a spot slower without the restaurant, which often served arsenic a wedding and different events venue. But snowfall and the Christmas vacation brought reservations backmost up.

The lodge is adjacent continuing its 15-year contented of Christmas meal with Santa. Normally successful the lodge, the Santa lawsuit volition alternatively beryllium held successful the cabins’ “hospitality suite” that was created to service continental meal and blessed hr to compartment guests successful spot of the restaurant.

“We’re trying to support arsenic galore memories live with the families that person travel up twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth implicit year, and unluckily we can’t supply them edifice service, but we’re doing everything we tin to marque the acquisition that the cabins arsenic memorable arsenic possible,” Schneekloth said.

Representatives of the Ellis family, which owns the lodge and edifice on with Ellis Island Hotel, Casino and Brewery, did not respond to a petition for comment.

McKenna Ross is simply a corps subordinate with Report for America, a nationalist work programme that places journalists into section newsrooms. Contact her astatine mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ connected Twitter.