Crime & Safety

UPDATED: Fire Damages Warehouse at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch

"Hoping it's where they stored anything to do with Jar-Jar," one Twitter user wrote about the blaze, which caused no injures and "minor to moderate" damage, according to Marin County fire officials. Scroll down for the article.

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This article was originally posted at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 3. It has since been updated. 

An early morning blaze damaged a shipping and receiving building at George Lucas’ famed Skywalker Ranch early Tuesday morning, according to media reports. 

Marin County Battalion Chief Mike Giannini told ABC7 News that the fire damaged office-type materials in a warehouse. The blaze was first reported at 4:09 a.m., according to KTVU.

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The sprinkler system went off, which helped firefighters extinguish the flames quickly, Battalion Chief Mike Giannini said.

A fire brigade based at the ranch initially responded to the blaze before Marin County firefighters arrived, he said.

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The building contains office furniture and supplies, he said. The blaze was localized to the roof area of the building, causing damage to a decorative cupola. 

The total damage is estimated at about $25,000, Giannini said.

No one was injured, according to media reports, and the blaze might have been caused by an electric motor in an exhaust fan.

San Anselmo resident and Star Wars creator George Lucas owns Skywalker Ranch, a 15-acre development on 4,700 acres of property off Lucas Valley Road in San Rafael. The ranch houses the headquarters of Lucasfilm and Skywalker Sound.

In addition to the Marin County Fire Department and the Tam Fire crew, other agencies that assisted with the effort included Ross Valley, Nicasio Volunteer, Marinwood, San Rafael and Novato fire departments, according to Marin County officials. 

A three-alarm fire at Skywalker Ranch in November 2011 — on the eve of an election night — caused little damage to the “main house” on the property.

Lucas married Mellody Hobson in June at Skywalker Ranch and the couple had a second star-studded wedding reception in Chicago.

Last month, the couple celebrated the birth of a daughter, Everest Hobson Lucas.

The billionaire sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion last year. He donated all the cash from the Lucasfilm-Disney deal to his foundation Edutopia, which is based in San Rafael and supports education programs.

The couple stood side by side when Lucas recently unveiled statues in a San Anselmo park he donated to the community. At the ceremony, Lucas told the large crowd Star Wars and Indiana Jones were both created in San Anselmo.
— Bay City News contributed to this report  

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