Easy Fire in Simi Valley Cost Reagan Library $500K, Including Destroyed Banners and Olive Trees

Inmate firefighters prepare to put out flames on the road leading to the Reagan Library during the Easy Fire in Simi Valley, California on October 30, 2019. (Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Nov 18, 2019 / 12:27 PM PST

Updated: Nov 18, 2019 / 12:27 PM PST

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Last month’s Easy fire in Simi Valley cost the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum nearly half a million dollars after the flames chewed through olive trees, presidential banners and an internet and cable box that took down the library’s network, officials said.

The fire licked the perimeter of the 125,000-square-foot site, inching its way precariously close to the glass enclosure that houses President Reagan’s Air Force One plane. The blaze, fed by winds of 60 mph, didn’t touch the building, but it did char the land surrounding it.

“Nothing on the actual campus itself was burned or was damaged,” spokesperson Melissa Giller said. “But a lot of damage was done on the hillside, including Presidential Drive.”

The most expensive loss was the library’s cable and internet box, affecting every computer system in the library, including its cash registers. It cost $100,000 to get the network running again, Giller said.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.