Photo courtesy of Wetmore Voluntary Fire Department
Press Release
Custer County Sheriff’s Office
On Wednesday, March 28th, at approximately 05:30 a.m., Custer County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from two female passersby of a structure fire at Bishop Castle, located on State Highway 165 at approximately twelve thousand block. Rye, Beulah and Wetmore Fire Departments were dispatched along with two Custer County Sheriff’s deputies.
Rye fire arrived on scene first and reported two structures were burning and had collapsed within themselves. The gift shop/residence and a small outbuilding were destroyed. There was no one living in the residence at the time of the fire. Fire had begun to creep up the mountainside but due to recent snowfall, the fire did not progress into the trees.
Wet Mountain Fire Department arrived on scene late afternoon to put foam on the structure as it remained hot and smoldering. Bishop Castle was closed to the public until the investigation was complete. The castle was not damaged in the fire.
Custer County Sheriff’s Office concluded their investigation of the Bishop Castle fire. An arson investigator in conjunction with our investigator determined the cause of the fire will be unknown but most likely electrical. Total loss of the two buildings is estimated at approximately $185,000 dollars which includes the buildings and contents. The castle has been released back to owner Jim Bishop and is open for tourism.
Custer County Sheriff’s Office wishes to express our condolences to the Bishop family in the loss of the buildings.
The Custer County Board of County Commissioners solemnly declared January 31st as Ben Rusher Day in memory of Ben Rusher’s heroic effort to save his drowning brother last summer. Shown is Commissioner Printz reading and presenting memorial plaques to Ben’s father, John Rusher, and mother, Elin Parker Ganschow.
Eva (née Adams) Colgate, 88 years old, was so incensed by the actions of the County Commissioners over the last six months, she decided it was time to take action. Eva grew up in the valley and worked on her daddy’s dairy farm until she went to college. She moved back to the Valley after a career teaching Home