San Dieguito River Valley Regional Open Space Park, Joint Powers Authority
Completion: 2004 and 2010

The 2007 Witch Creek fire burned all but the structure's 1870 original adobe walls. See Union Tribune Article here.

The history of the Zenas Sikes Adobe Farmhouse, 1870 to 1872, is a microcosm of the events that occurred in the settling of the west – a time when settlers rapidly displaced the Native American residents from the valleys where they had lived for thousands of years. The Sikes family is representative of the earliest American ranchers and farmers who settled in California following statehood.  

The comprehensive project scope involved a Historic Structure Report expanded to include an Archaeological Investigation, Interpretive Plan, a Cultural Landscape Analysis and a series of Master Plans for the current site context and evolution to a future on-site visitors’ center. The report phase was followed by architectural services to provide seismic stabilization and restoration construction documents.

Disaster preparedness was an unforeseen benefit of the comprehensive documentation. Unfortunately, this resource was heavily damaged due to the 2007 Witch Creek Wildfire. The thorough documentation from 2002 and 2004 enabled the restoration and reconstruction of the rural resource after a near total loss. The restoration of the adobe and reconstruction of the wooden portions of the resource were completed in 2010. The reconstruction includes carefully detailed fire resistive measures. Hidden under the wood shingle roofing and wooden siding is noncombustible sheathing. Other unseen wooden members are constructed of heavy timber and the fenestration openings are fire suppression protected, so hopefully this tragedy never happens again.