3 Flee $1-Million Blaze at Hearst Retreat

William Randolph Hearst’s son and his wife escaped injury Wednesday when a fire destroyed the east wing of the late newspaper magnate’s hideaway.

Firefighters managed to save valuable carpets and furniture but not before about $250,000 worth of treasures were lost in the $1-million blaze, said Walt Watton, a California Department of Forestry prevention officer.

The 18,000-square-foot mansion, made of stone and wood, is the lesser-known of the late tycoon-publisher’s retreats. Hearst Castle in San Simeon is now a state park.

Randolph Hearst, the 77-year-old president of the San Francisco Examiner, and his wife, Veronica, were asleep in their second-floor bedroom when she smelled smoke, Watton said. The east wing contains four of the turreted structure’s 11 bedrooms.

“She woke her husband up. The architect was staying downstairs, and they went down and got him, woke him up, and got out of the house,” Watton said.