San Juan Bautista – More than a century of San Benito County history went up in flames early Friday morning when a raging fire destroyed the main building of the St. Francis Retreat.
The fire started around 4:30am Friday morning and the building was already half destroyed by the time San Benito County firefighters arrived shortly before 5am, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Curt Itson. Firefighters from a half dozen neighboring cities and counties worked with CDF and Hollister crews to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to other buildings. Six Franciscan brothers had evacuated the three-story building by the time fire crews arrived. One was taken to Hazel Hawkins Hospital in Hollister with minor burns, Itson said.
While firefighters were able to save some of the building’s religious artifacts, the entire building and much of its contents were destroyed by the fire, Itson said.
“They were able to save some priceless artwork, statues and crucifixes while the fire was burning overhead,” he said. “They were in there until the very last second trying to get that stuff out.”
The 143-year-old wooden building succumbed to the flames as firefighters struggled to get enough water to the remote religious center located on the outskirts of San Juan Bautista, Itson said.
“We had great cooperation from the other agencies,” Itson said. “It’s that cooperation that kept the fire from spreading.”
Throughout the day, seven tanker trucks made dozens of trips back and forth between the retreat and San Juan Bautista carrying water. More than 100 firefighters worked in shifts to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and the forest behind the building. Red Cross officials came to help those in need.
“It’s a big project just keeping these guys fed and hydrated,” Itson said.
The fire burned long into the evening Friday and Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer predicated it would continue for many more hours.
“We’ll probably be out here tomorrow (Saturday) also,” he said. Itson said the cause of the fire was unknown and that it would take investigators several days to determine what started the blaze.
Father Barry Brusman, director of the St. Francis Retreat Center, was devastated by the loss, but remained faithful about the center’s future. Brusman was one of first on scene.
“I started trying to put it out with a (small garden) hose,” he said. “My heart dropped when the inferno started and I realized we really needed to get out of here. But in my heart I know something else will work out.”
Brusman did not know how much the building had been insured for, but said it was “priceless.”
“There is so much history here,” he said. “It was built in 1863 and the Franciscans took over in 1940. Thousands and thousands of people have been here since then with one group or another.”
The center, owned by the Franciscan Friars of California, is primarily used for spiritual retreats, Brusman said. Much of the building’s historic artifacts and ornamentation were lost. Built on the San Justo Rancho, the retreat building was once owned by Hollister’s name-sake, Colonel W.W. Hollister.
“There is a lot that will never be replaced,” Brusman said. “It’s a heartbreaker.”
San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho spent a lot of time on the St. Francis Retreat grounds as a child growing up in San Juan Bautista.
“It will be sorely missed,” he said. “It benefited the entire town.”
