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Ronald Reagan Home in Danger Due to Alisal Wildfire, Firefighters Hurry to Protect Ranch

The Alisal wildfire is now within a half-mile of the iconic home of Ronald Reagan and it is inching closer with every day, hour, minute, and even second.

The Reagan Ranch — also known as Rancho del Cielo — was a vacation home for the former president and his first lady. The gorgeous 688-acre property has been under a close eye as the Alisal fire has been burning nearby to the northwest. Santa Barbara County Fire public information officer Mike Eliason was among the first to announce on Twitter that the fire was still getting closer.

“The fire was several miles from the ranch, which has good defensible space, and several USFS engines were arriving to provide structure protection,” he said.

It would obviously be a tragic thing to see the Reagan Ranch be burned by a wildfire. Ronald and Nancy Reagan first purchased the property as his term as governor was coming to an end. That was back in 1974. It also held special significance during Reagan’s presidency, almost serving as a second White House in the west. You may recall that the Reagan’s hosted several other world leaders on the property for meetings. In 1998, the property was officially sold to the conservative Young America Foundation (YAF). They posted an update this afternoon as well.

“YAF leadership is working with Congressional allies and other leaders who are their offering support in acquiring resources to help fight this fire,” the foundation said in a statement. They also added that there were several fire engines on the property. Not only that but fire retardant was being sprayed around all of the structures on the property as well.

Firefighters Work to Keep Ronald Reagan Home Safe from Wildfire

In the meantime, Los Padres National Forest fire crews have been doing all they can to keep the fire a safe distance away from the Reagan Ranch. The agency explained as much in a tweet earlier this afternoon. And as you can see in their photo, keeping this particular wildfire at bay has been no small task.

“The view of the #AlisalFire from the Reagan Ranch this morning. Fire crews are working diligently to keep the fire away from the ranch.”

Meanwhile, this may very well be the most serious fire the Reagan Ranch has ever faced. But with that said, it is most certainly not the first. Andrew Coffin, Vice President of YAF and the Director of the Reagan Ranch explained as much.

“We’ve had fires that have threatened the ranch before, mostly Sherpa in 2016. But this is by far the biggest threat we’ve faced and biggest threat since the 1955 Refugio Fire,” he explained.

As of Tuesday morning, officials estimated that the Alisal wildfire had grown to an estimated 6,000 acres. In addition to that, they admitted that zero percent of the fire has been contained so far.