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https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/mount-wilson-escapes-wildfire-amateur-observatory-destroyed/

A few of the club’s founding members had leased the property in the early 1980s; by 1983, they had constructed an observatory and donated it to the club. Another one of the club’s founding members built the observatory’s first telescope, a 17.5-inch Coulter, and its mount. Later in 1999, another member built a fiberglass Home-Dome and donated it to the club, along with a 16-inch Meade telescope in 2007.

Originally the site was named the Sky Shack, but in 1998 the club voted to rename it the Hidden Hill Observatory, or H2O. Over its almost 40 years of service, the Tri-Valley Stargazers and the surrounding community have used the site for observing, research, astrophotography, and outreach events. Recently, the club had finished an extensive two-year renovation project, including improvements to the building and equipment upgrades.

Now, H2O has burned to the ground.

“When fire swept through the area on August 19th and destroyed the building, it was a heartbreaking loss for the club and for everyone who looks to the night skies for inspiration,” says club president Roland Albers.

Among the club’s losses were two custom-built telescopes, an 18-inch truss-tube Newtonian, and a 17.5-inch aluminum-tube Newtonian. The mirrors broke and aluminum melted in the heat. Club members also found several eyepieces from their premium collection melted in the wreckage. All of the electronics, solar panels, reference materials, finders, collimation tools, filters, and furniture that were in the observatory are gone.

Moving Forward

Despite the loss, the Tri-Valley Stargazers remain hopeful. The fire did not take everything, leaving the observatory’s small dome unscathed. Importantly, the landowners made it out safely, and their home escaped the blaze.

The Tri-Valley Stargazers plan to rebuild the Hidden Hill Observatory over the next two years, with an estimated cost of roughly $30,000. They plan to build a similar-size building and outfit it with two new scopes. The club has created a GoFundMe page to finance the project, and in just 14 days, they are less than $6,000 from their goal. “I am overwhelmed by the support we've received so far from the community and from fellow stargazers throughout the world,” Albers says.