Fire damages service areas of View Point Inn

CORBETT – The View Point Inn in Corbett will be closed indefinitely after fire damaged parts of the historic Tudor-style structure Sunday night, Dec. 14.

Damage from the fire, which employees detected around 10 p.m., was mostly contained to internal areas not visible from the public dining room. Some employees and attendees of a private dinner that was winding down were there, but no one was injured, housekeeper Jamie Eickerman said Monday afternoon.

“It was a sheer stroke of luck. Almost all of our (customers) canceled,” she said. “A couple people from the Moore family Christmas dinner chose to stay the night. If they hadn’t, we would’ve all gone home and the whole place would’ve burned down.”

The blaze is under investigation, but owners of the restaurant at 40301 East Larch Mountain Road speculated it was electrical in nature and started near the building’s fireplace, Eickerman said. A fire was lit in the downstairs fireplace, but not the one upstairs.

As thick, black smoke poured from the walls, a View Point employee called the Corbett Fire Department around 10:15 p.m. and fetched Todd Mock, a firefighter who lives near the restaurant. Volunteer firefighters arrived quickly from Corbett and Springdale, Eickerman said, but it took some time to find the origin of smoke coming through the walls. Firefighters brought the blaze under control and remained on the scene until approximately 2 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15.

The main kitchen area was left intact, but the dishwashing area is not functional in the wake of the blaze. With a 100-guest wedding set for Saturday, Dec. 20, and several other events scheduled between now and New Year’s, the View Point plans to follow through with its commitments even if it has to bring in outside caterers, Eickerman said. The restaurant is normally closed Monday and Tuesday, so staff is using the days off to figure out how to proceed.

“We’re striving to honor our events,” Eickerman said. “We’re in the process of hashing it out.”

Built in 1924, the hotel and restaurant’s position on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge makes it a popular wedding destination. The local landmark gained wider attention recently as the backdrop for “Twilight,” the wildly popular vampire-themed movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling series of books.

The “Twilight” film crew spent four weeks there last spring, with the movie’s two leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, staying there for one week.

Eickerman encourages customers and those associated with upcoming events at the inn to monitor the Web site, www.theviewpointinn.com or call 503-695-5811.
Outlook reporter Mara Stine contributed to this story.