$1.5-Million Fire Sweeps Golden Door Beauty Spa

A fire apparently caused by faulty wiring in a clothes dryer swept through the central wing of the exclusive Golden Door Beauty Resort just north of here Saturday night, causing an estimated $1.5 million in damage and destroying or damaging numerous pieces of antique Japanese artwork.

There were no major injuries, and the 29 guests staying at the Deer Springs Road resort when the fire broke out were evacuated to nearby Lawrence Welk Village for the rest of the weekend.

Fire officials called the blaze --which raged out of control for nearly three hours despite torrential rains--one of the most costly and difficult to battle in recent North County history.

“I’ve been here 13 years and I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it,” said Deputy Chief Cliff Hunter of the San Marcos Fire Department. Hunter said firefighters were hampered by the resort’s concrete tile roof, which contained and helped fuel flames before it collapsed.

Those battling the blaze also were preoccupied with salvaging the many rare vases and hand-painted Japanese rice-paper screens that decorated the resort’s main lobby, Hunter said. At least one such screen, valued at more than $35,000, was lost to the flames, and several autographed photographs of famous politicians and celebrities who have vacationed at the Golden Door also were either destroyed or damaged, he said.

More than 150 firefighters from eight area fire departments and Camp Pendleton responded to the four-alarm blaze, which broke out at 9:45 p.m. and was declared under control about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Hunter said.

One San Marcos firefighter, Charles Morton, was injured when a roof tile fell and badly bruised his arm. He was treated at Palomar Hospital in Escondido. A resort employee, whose name was not available, also reportedly was injured when she slipped on a fire hose and broke her arm, Hunter said.

Initial reports listed the suspected cause of the fire as arson. But Golden Door General Manager Rachel Caldwell said late Sunday that investigators told her the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the resort’s laundry room.

“The latest word is that it was almost certainly a mechanical problem in one of the dryers,” said Caldwell, who has worked at the spa for 24 years.

Hunter declined to confirm that report, saying only that the blaze remains under investigation by fire officials and the San Diego County sheriff’s Arson and Explosives Unit.

Fire officials said the blaze was confined to the resort’s central wing, which contains the main lobby and administrative offices. Hunter said flames apparently spread westward from the laundry room through the building’s attic space and soon engulfed the entire structure.

The resort’s switchboard operator, who was not identified, was the only person in the building when the fire broke out. It was her telephone call that brought firefighters to the scene.

Founded in 1959 by Deborah Szekely, The Golden Door is a single-story wooden structure nestled in a lush valley northeast of Escondido. It is known for the tranquility of its setting--which includes exquisitely manicured Japanese gardens, courtyards, streams, orchards and an organic vegetable patch.

Guests, limited to 34 per weeklong session, pay upwards of $2,550 for seven days of workouts, meditation, massage, communal hot-tubbing, and snacks of pear juice and potassium broth. They are pampered by a full-time staff of 120 that includes 10 beauticians, 7 masseuses and 10 fitness instructors.

Many guests attend the Golden Door annually, and there is normally a nine-month waiting list. Caldwell said the spa moved to its current site in 1975, a move forced by the construction of Interstate 15.

The Golden Door is Szekely’s second health and beauty venture. Forty-five years ago, at age 18, she and her husband opened the Rancho la Puerta spa in Tecate, Mexico. A noted businesswoman and philanthropist, Szekely is now president of the Inter-American Foundation--a tiny federal agency that sponsors grass-roots development projects in Latin America.

In addition to the irreplaceable art, the resort’s administrative records, two copying machines, and new computer and telephone systems were either destroyed or extensively damaged by flames or water, Hunter said.

Caldwell said resort officials hoped to have the Golden Door open for business again within a month.