Hearst Castle hit by power outage, downed trees due to winter storm. Is it open for tours?

State parks in San Luis Obispo County saw storm damage and some closures as heavy rain and high winds hammered the region Wednesday and early Thursday.

Dan Falat, superintendent of the San Luis Obispo Coast District of California State Parks, said Thursday that the pier in San Simeon, Morro Bay Natural Historical Museum, the lower State Park Road in Morro Bay State Park and parking areas at Studio Drive and 24^th Street at Morro Strand were all closed.

Access to Spooner’s Cove in Montana de Oro State Park near Los Osos was blocked,

However, guides were still giving tours at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, he said.

The former estate of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst was operating on standby power from gas generators, Falat said, because power went out around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday — about the same time a tree fell near the Pergola.

Other trees went down in that area and others, he said, including a palm tree by the Esplanade and an oak by a guest house. No damage was reported there.

Trees also fell across the access road leading from the Visitor Center to the hilltop, Falat said.

His ground and maintenance crews were able to clear one lane overnight, and they had both lanes open by about 8 a.m.

Falat said he and his staff will continue to assess the situation to determine which closures end and when.

Kathe Tanner

The Tribune

805-781-7904 (voicemails only)

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four decades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it.