Winhall, VT – At 8:45 a.m. on Saturday morning the Winhall Fire Department in southern Vermont responded to a structure fire at the defunct Snow Valley ski area in the town of Winhall, near Manchester.
Det. Sgt. Michael Manley of the Vermont State Police reports that the base lodge of the ski area, closed since 1984, was fully engulfed in flames when authorities arrived. The Peru Fire Department and the Manchester Fire Department provided assistance but the structure was declared a total loss in the blaze.
While State Police estimated the loss at $300,000, the building was for many years empty and unoccupied and had fallen into disrepair. In the years since the ski area closed vandals and the weather had heavily damaged the base lodge and other structures, some of which had collapsed on their own and were subsequently removed.
Investigators from the Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit and the Vermont Division of Fire Safety responded for a cause and origin investigation. For now the cause of the fire was ruled undetermined and is considered suspicious by investigators. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
The owner of the property is listed as Patrick Robinson of Darien, Conn.
According to Jeremy Davis of Wilton, N.Y., the founder of the New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP) and a member of the New England Ski Museum’s Board of Directors, verified ski area operations at Snow Valley date back to 1947 when a 574 vertical foot t-bar was installed at the site. A poma lift increased the vertical drop marginally in 1960. Snowmaking went in during the 1970s and a double chairlift was installed to the summit in 1977. Facing stiff competition from larger nearby ski areas Stratton Mountain, Bromley and Magic Mountain, however, Snow Valley finally closed for good in 1984. Its overgrown trails are still visible from Vermont State Routes 11 and 30 between Manchester and Peru.
The State Police are asking anyone with information to call the Vermont Arson Tip Award Program at (800) 32-ARSON or the Shaftsbury State Police Barracks. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered.
Snow Valley photo gallery:
(courtesy: NELSAP)
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