By the numbers
500: Employees at Mad River Mountain in peak season
150,000: Visitors per season to Mad River Mountain
53: Years old ski lodge destroyed by fire
144: Acres of skiing
Complete coverage
The Springfield News-Sun talked to Logan County leaders, firefighters, investigators, businesses, neighbors and skiers to bring you this in-depth story about the massive fire at Mad River Mountain. Go online to SpringfieldNewsSun.com for more photos and videos from the scene, as well as a roundup of what readers are saying on social media.
Mad River Mountain — one of the largest tourism drivers in Logan County — plans to open for business this winter despite a massive fire that gutted its 53-year-old ski lodge.
A total of 16 fire crews responded Wednesday night as flames poured through the historic loft at the ski resort in Zanesfield, the largest ski area in Ohio. Firefighters worked throughout the night, even using the pump designed to make snow to extinguish the flames.
The mountain typically draws about 150,000 people per season and employs up to 500 workers during its peak season. General Manager Tom Price doesn’t foresee that any jobs will be affected by the fire.
“The heart of the ski area is still here,” Price said. “We’ve got everything we need to really turn it on tomorrow. It was mostly food service and seating and an iconic building … It’s nothing that we can’t overcome.”
The cause of the fire is undetermined but it’s still early in the investigation, said Ray McCarthy, assistant fire chief of the State Fire Marshal. It will likely take through the end of next week.
“The whole back of it is completely gone — collapsed in on top of each other — so we’re going to need heavy equipment to start basically peeling back the onion to take a look at it all,” McCarthy said.
Nothing appears suspicious, McCarthy said. The fire marshal will interview all of the employees that were there yesterday, and representatives of owner Peak Resorts are coming in from out of town.
It’s the biggest fire Tri Valley Fire District has ever faced, Chief Luann Davis said.
“It was all wood so it had a lot of fuel for the fire,” Davis said. “It’s heart wrenching for everybody.”
The rear of the building was fully engulfed when crews arrived, she said. By the time the district’s fire truck parked, the front of the building had collapsed.
The district’s annual walk through for Mad River Mountain was scheduled for next week.
The mountain is one of the main tourist attractions in Logan County, County Commissioner John Bayliss said, along with Indian Lake and the Ohio Caverns.
“It’s one of the iconic activities and places to see and visit in this part of Ohio … For both the company and the community, I hope things can get back up as soon possible,” Bayliss said.
A significant number of people come to the resort annually, said Paul Benedetti, president and chief executive officer of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce.
“It sounds like they’ve got a plan in place,” Benedetti said. “Our hearts go out to that community. It’s a vital part of tourism and attraction in Logan County.”
The fire could affect nearby businesses related to Mad River Mountain, said Jon Southworth, who owns the nearby Vertical Drop ski rental and apparel shop.
The loss of the lodge will leave the mountain without a large gathering place, especially the bar area, which played a key role in the nightlife at the mountain, he said.
“It’s one of our major concerns,” said Southworth, a Beavercreek native who grew up skiing at Mad River.
He’s also concerned skiers will think Mad River isn’t open and drive elsewhere.
The fire also forced East Liberty native and Benjamin Logan High School graduate Chelsey Orr to rearrange her wedding.
Orr plans to marry Scott Ferguson on Saturday, but now must move her 170-person reception from the charred ski resort to a different venue in Hunstville.
The family could see the flames from their home in East Liberty and drove over to watch it. Cynthia Orr, Chelsey’s mother, immediately knew the flames were coming from the ski lodge. The family had been prepared to put up decorations in the stained-glass lodge on Thursday.
“We thought it was another building, maybe further down, maybe a barn or something,” said Scott Orr, Chelsey’s father. “The closer we got to it, our hearts started to sink. Smoke was just billowing out of the loft.”
The ski patrol building also was destroyed, including safety equipment, Cynthia Orr said. She’s been skiing at Mad River Mountain for more than 40 years and has been a member of the patrol for 22 years. As soon as her daughter got engaged, they knew they wanted to have the reception at the lodge.
“It’s just really, really sad,” Cynthia Orr said. “Lots of memories.”
She believes the community will rally around rebuilding the historic structure.
“All (Tom Price) has to do is say the word,” she said.
Mad River Mountain opened in 1962 and is the largest ski resort in Ohio. It has 144 acres of skiing, a vertical drop of 300 feet and 14 lifts, as well as a snow tubing area.
Price, who took over about five weeks ago, thanked firefighters for their efforts in stopping the spread of the fire.
“People who skied here a lot will always remember the loft,” he said. “But we will build and make comfortable arrangements … We can come back.”
Springfield resident Kele Stanley, an avid snowboarder who drove up to take photos of the damage, was shocked when he heard about the fire.
“There are a lot of good memories that have gone down in that building,” Stanley said. “Everybody knows the stained glass is Mad River … Hopefully, they’ll rebuild and we’ll get something just as nice. I’m sure they’ll do it up for us.”
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