Press release dated October 12, 1999:

Historic Cabin Destroyed by Fire in Los Padres National Forest

The old Madulce Guard Station, the only structure in Los Padres National Forest on the National Register of Historic Places, burned to the ground Monday in what appears to be an arson-caused fire. The Madulce Station was located deep in the rugged Santa Barbara backcountry in what is now the Dick Smith Wilderness.

The structure fire, which was initially reported at 5:30 p.m. Monday by passing aircraft, spread to the surrounding area in Pine Canyon, consuming an acre and a half of brush before it was contained during the night by Forest Service firefighters.

A suspect in the Madulce station fire was taken into custody this morning by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Dominick Roppoccio, 52 years old, has admitted to starting the fire and has been booked at the county jail on arson charges. Roppoccio is a transient who has been living in the Los Padres National Forest backcountry off and on since 1976.

Built in 1929, the Madulce Guard Station was a single-story wood frame structure situated along Pine Creek in the upper Mono Creek watershed north of Madulce Peak. The station was at the 5100 foot elevation near the junction of four important trails: the Santa Barbara Canyon Trail from the Cuyama Valley, the Big Pine-Madulce Trail leading to the Sisquoc River, the Don Victor-Mono Trail, and the Alamar Canyon Trail to Santa Barbara.

Constructed on the site of an old log cabin dating from the 1880's, it was an important "line station" for backcountry forest rangers and was in use until the 1940's. It measured about 18 feet by 27 feet, and consisted of one room with living and sleeping quarters, a kitchen, utility pantry and closet. It had ship-lap style wood siding and a wood shingle roof and contained an old woodstove, beds, chairs, tables and kitchen implements.

After falling into disuse and disrepair fifty years ago, the Madulce Guard Station was restored in the 1970's and nominated in 1978 to the National Register of Historic Places. In recent years, several volunteer groups helped the Forest Service further restore and stabilize the building. It was used frequently by backcountry rangers, volunteers and travelers.

According to Forest Service officials, the Madulce Guard Station is accessible by foot or horseback only and is "a very long 30 miles" from the Upper Oso Campground off Paradise Road and "an all day trip" via Santa Barbara Canyon off Highway 33.

Today, firefighters remain in the area, mopping up the fire at the structure and in the surrounding brush.