A historic New Hampshire castle overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee has been lost to a two-alarm fire that broke out early Wednesday morning.
Kimball Castle, which was built in Gilford just before the turn of the 20th century, has been declared a total loss, according to Gilford firefighters.
The Gilford Fire Department responded to reports of a large outdoor fire on Scenic Drive shortly before 3:45 a.m., firefighters said in a Facebook post. Soon after, the department received additional reports of a brush fire along Route 11 and a building fire on Lockes Hill — the land on which the castle was situated.
Firefighters struck a first alarm before arriving at the scene, firefighters said. Once there, they found Kimball Castle fully engulfed in flames that were rapidly spreading to the surrounding brush.
Fire crews quickly deployed hand lines to attack the blaze and contain the advancing flames, firefighters said. Soon, they struck a second alarm for the building, requested a first alarm forestry response and set up a water supply operation in the nearby Glendale neighborhood.
Firefighters managed to bring both the structure and brush fires under control within an hour, but the castle was deemed a total loss, and two acres of woodland had burned, firefighters said. Fire crews stayed at the scene until 10:30 a.m. to conduct extensive overhaul operations.
Gilford police and the New Hampshire Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the fire. They are asking the public to send them any videos or photos that show the fire and/or suspicious persons or vehicles in the area from around the time of the fire.
Kimball Castle was built for railroad magnate Benjamin Ames Kimball and modeled after granite castles he’d seen lining the Rhine River while visiting Germany.
No further information about the fire has been released.
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