Wildfires Destroy the 157-Year-Old Farmhouse at Pie Ranch

The central California coast has lost one of its real gems in the wildfires that have consumed wide swaths of Northern California this past week: The 157-year-old farmhouse at Pie Ranch, a beloved nonprofit educational farm in Pescadero, burned to the ground on Friday, as the SF Chronicle first reported after Pie Ranch co-founder Nancy Vail shared a video on Facebook of the building engulfed in flames.

“I thought we were in the clear, but an ember fell on the Pie Ranch historic farmhouse built in 1863 and it is gone,” Vail wrote in the post.

Pie Ranch is just one of the many Bay Area farms that have been impacted by wildfires that have already burned more than 1.1 million acres of land across California as of Monday morning. The largest of these, the LNU Lightning Complex fire, has torn through large stretches of wine country and the North Bay, threatening vineyards and, as the Chron reports, hitting small farms in areas like Vacaville in Solano County particularly hard. Meanwhile, the CZU Lightning Complex fire is what officials are calling the wildfire that has swept through the Santa Cruz mountains, hitting many of the farms and residences on the Central Coast — that’s the fire that swept through the Pescadero area over the weekend.

Pie Ranch, which is named after the triangular shape of the 14-acre property, was founded in 2004 and probably best known for its educational programs — partnerships with San Francisco’s Mission High and other local schools, helping students understand the complexities of the food system and giving them the opportunity to have first-hand experience on a working farm. Its farmstand, which sold — yes — pies as well as strawberries and other produce in season, was a popular stop for sightseers traveling along the coast on Highway 1.

The farmhouse that was destroyed, also known as the Steele Family Home, was used primarily for housing — as a post on the Pie Ranch website notes, “in addition to the current team members who have lost their home, the old house has sheltered countless other staff members, emerging farmers, been the site of youth meetings and camp outs and hosted weddings, birthdays and other meaningful events. We mourn with all of you who have passed through this space over the last 15 years.”

A subsequent Facebook post by Vail offered a few silver linings: While the farmhouse is a total loss, and there are still spot fires on the property that need to be put out, other parts of the farm remain intact — including the barn where, prior to COVID-19, the farm would host monthly dances that were open to the general public.

The farm is currently soliciting donations both to assist its staff as well as to pay for what will likely be a long rebuilding process. “Although we won’t have a final number on the losses sustained by our staff or damages to Pie and Cascade [a neighboring incubator farm, also run by Pie Ranch] for several weeks, we know the need will be great,” a statement on the Pie Ranch website reads.

Meanwhile, the Pescadero area on the Central California Coast is home to several farms that are especially well loved by Bay Area food lovers. In addition to the Pie Ranch farm stand, the Harley Farms Goat Dairy and the Swanton Berry Farm U-Pick are two of the area’s other top attractions, especially for families — looking at cute baby goats and picking strawberries are both exceedingly kid-friendly activities, after all.

So far, anyway, there’s good news on both fronts. On Instagram, Swanton Berry Farm posted that its farmstand, farmworker housing, and fields were all “untouched by fire” as of Saturday evening — though all were still “under threat.” And on Facebook, Harley Farms posted an update for supporters concerned about the fate of the farm: “Thank you for offering help. We are calm and safe here on the farm. It is the safest place to be right now.”

For those looking to help, Swanton notes that its workers will be the beneficiaries of a GoFundMe campaign, started by a former employee — funds that will mostly go directly into the hands of farm employees “to compensate for lost wages & possibly to re-locate if the need arises,” according to a post on Swanton’s Instagram account. And Harley encourages its supporters to donate to Puente, a local nonprofit that offers support to farms throughout the Pescadero area.