'It's a total loss': The Hobbit Inn destroyed in the Chelan Hills fire

Hobbit fans no longer have a home away from the shire in central Washington.

The Chelan Hills fire wiped the Hobbit Inn from the hills of Orondo, Washington. The hobbit hole-inspired underground vacation rental was among the many structures damaged by the 9,735-acre fire that broke out in the early Saturday morning. The fire prompted Level 3 "go now" evacuations for McNeil Canyon, Northwest Road 20 and Beebe Ranch. Nine verified GoFundMe campaigns show houses that were razed within the evacuation zone. One person's remains were found in a burned car Sunday.

Built in 2015 by Kristie Wolfe, the unique stay was not a museum of J.R. R. Tolkien's novels "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." The property was inspired by what a hobbit's domicile would actually look like, Wolfe said. The house featured a wood bathtub and floors, and a whittling station so guests could immerse into the lifestyle of a hobbit.

"I had kind of created a character that lived there in my head, and this hobbit was a woodworker," she said. "I made it so that an actual hobbit lived there."

Saturday had gone as normal for Wolfe: A guest checked out and a cleaning crew came in and turned the property over to welcome new guests that afternoon. However, when guests arrived to the area, they were turned around due to evacuations and road closures. Wolfe then checked fire maps and realized her property was in the fire's crosshairs. The maps showed the Chelan Hills fire on top of her property.

The next morning, neighbors confirmed the Hobbit Inn was gone. Wolfe drove to Orondo from North Idaho, where she's developing another rental, to survey the damage herself.

"It's a total loss," she said. "Burnt to the ground, but a lot of the neighborhood was in the same boat."

She took to the rental's Instagram account to share photos and videos of the damage. Over 500 comments on the post show people mourning the loss of the property, offering support and donations and questioning whether Wolfe will rebuild the beloved rental.

"I posted about it late last night, and then everybody's been sending me their pictures," Wolfe said. "So going down memory lane is really great."

She's unsure if she can, or should, rebuild the hobbit hole, but said it would be a shame for the property's views of the Columbia Gorge and Lake Chelan to go unused. The Hobbit Inn, which charged $250 a night, rarely went a day without a booking, with most guests having to book out far in advance, she said. Wolfe worked with Airbnb to take the property listing down and canceled 110 reservations.

"People want it to be there, want it back, but I just don't know what I'm going to be able to pull off," she said.

The inn attracted people from all over. Krista Sobocan, a photographer based in Toronto visited in June 2025 with her boyfriend. The couple was drawn by the property's Earthship architecture. She appreciated the small details Wolfe put into the property, such as the wooden bathroom and "old-style features" of the house.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before," Sobocan said. "It was so special, and it just felt like you're in a fairy tale staying there."

She was devastated when she heard the Hobbit Inn was burned in the fire. The property's charm and architectural feats can't be replaced, she said.

"Everything inside was one of a kind, custom-built," she said. "I think it's just a tragedy and a shame."

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