Massive Fire Destroys Once Popular New York Vacation Destination

A multi-alarm blaze has destroyed parts of the once-popular Homowack Lodge in Sullivan County, NY.

For many years the Homowack Lodge located at 359 Phillipsport Rd N, Wurtsboro, NY in Sullivan County was a vacation destination for folks from New York City who could hop in the car and take a short drive to the resort and enjoy a few days relaxing in the country.

Homowack Lodge in Wurtsboro, New York

In the 1960s the lodge underwent major renovations and added many new recreation facilities, leading to it becoming one of the premier hotels in the region according to the website Hamodia. As the resort industry in the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions began to decline over the years the lodge was sold to various owners. Unfortunately, none of the new owners could get the lodge reopened, with the last attempt happening in 2014 when a Brooklyn-based group named Beautiful Earth Group purchased the property at a county tax auction and proposed opening a new hotel and recreation resort that would run entirely on green energy. That plan never happened and the property has been abandoned ever since.

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Homowack Lodge on Fire

According to reports the multiple-alarm fire started Tuesday night and quickly spread throughout the abandoned resort buildings. Numerous fire departments from the area responded to the fire including firefighters from Ellenville, Circleville, and Napanoch. One first responder told us that he was on the scene of the fire until about 1 a.m. Tuesday night and said, "It'll be burning for a while."

Fire officials haven't announced the cause of the fire as it's still under investigation. When more details become available we will update this article.