
Update: 04/14/2026: There is a small team of people in the valley this week to address infrastructure priorities in advance of the upcoming work period. They have successfully restored the electrical grid and completed several additional projects to stabilize and prepare the fire site. The work is proceeding well and on schedule.
Kogetsu Mok, SFZC’s CFO, has remained in the valley throughout this recovery period, serving as our primary on-site point of contact. She has been coordinating directly with the insurance company, fire inspectors, and environmental testing teams, and is the principal advisor on safety conditions governing the return timeline.
Environmental testing results have been arriving in stages throughout last week. The final report has been received: no significant hazardous materials were identified beyond what would be typical of a standard structure fire. An important finding from the environmental report is that remediation work can proceed concurrently with people in the valley without posing a meaningful health risk. We should have a remediation contractor lined up shortly.
Our revised opening dates are as follows: Students will begin returning on April 19, work period will start on April 21, and guest season will open on May 13.
The decision to cancel the first two weeks of guest season was very difficult and not made lightly. We know how important it is for people to come to Tassajara and how much folks have been looking forward to spending time here this spring. We have done our best to reschedule reservations and very much appreciate how even in the middle of their disappointment, people have been very understanding and kind.
The fundraising campaign started to offset the costs of the fire and the loss of the zendo continues to be a source of connection and encouragement to all. Knowing how important this simple building was to people from all over the world is deeply moving. We continue to bow to our sangha for their thoughtfulness and generosity.
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Update: 04/07/2026: Thank you for your questions and concerns about Tassajara in the aftermath of the zendo fire.
A small number of people are currently in the valley caring for Tassajara as we move through the slow process of assessments and testing. Until this process is complete, we are not able to make any final decisions about the work period or the summer guest and student programs. We also do not yet have any information about how the fire started.
Electricity and internet service are functioning at a minimal level, and numerous safety and insurance inspections are underway. In some cases, we will need to wait a week or more for results.
It is our hope and intention to reopen as soon as it is safe and we are able to staff Tassajara for the summer. In the meantime, the opening of the summer guest season has been postponed until May 13. All retreats and Sangha Weeks scheduled before that date have been canceled.
The Summer Student Program has also been delayed until we have more clarity about when Work Period will begin. If you are interested in applying as a student, please continue to submit your application, with arrival dates likely in late April at the earliest. The ZMC Director will remain in close contact with applicants and those scheduled to come to Tassajara this summer.
Correction: The original post below has been updated to clarify that the zendo instruments saved from the fire are not the original instruments gifted by the Shumucho Soto Zen Headquarters in Japan. Those instruments were unfortunately lost in the 1978 zendo fire.
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Update: 04/01/2026: Yesterday, the fire site was professionally inspected and we learned that the fire contained dangerous materials that may be present in the soil, on the rubble, and in the air. Additional environmental testing and assessment was recommended and immediately scheduled for this week. Following this, the area will need to be cleared by professionals.
Even if the environmental testing comes back better than we thought, the clean up process must be completed by people with professional experience and equipment. Therefore, we have had to make the difficult decision to move as many people out of Tassajara as possible.
This means that current residents/students will be temporarily relocated to GGF or CC and any incoming summer students will either do the same or pause their arrival until Tassajara is cleared for full occupancy.
Work period has been paused to start later in April and run through early May. In the meantime, a significantly downsized crew will come in to work on necessary projects and help to restore electricity to the valley.
The opening of guest season will be delayed slightly (people with reservations will be contacted about this) but we hope to have our full summer season up and running in early May.
Our number one priority is to be sure that people are safe and well cared for and every decision is being made with that in mind. Any people remaining at Tassajara during this time will have all the necessary equipment needed to assure their health and safety
While this is our current plan, please understand that things may shift depending on circumstances. We will do our best to keep the sangha and our wider community informed in a timely manner.
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Update 03/31/2026: The most important next step is for the inspectors to arrive to determine the cause of the fire (still unknown) and how safe the ruins are for clearing. Once we have that information, we can assess what’s possible for Work Period and the Summer Guest Season/Summer Practice Program. The inspectors are scheduled to arrive today.
The sangha continues to maintain the morning and evening zazen and service schedule in the large room of the retreat hall. Over the first couple of days after the fire, the residents gathered for a sharing circle and later a fire debriefing to offer their experiences and feedback from the heart. They are being supported by SFZC leadership through sessions with trauma therapists, some of whom work with firefighters. Tassajara leadership has also created a “buddy system” where two practitioners check in with each other. If residents feel overextended or unwell, they can take whatever time off that they need.
During the final few days of the practice period, the sangha will participate in the traditional Dharma inquiry ceremony for the head monk, the closing of the practice period, and the departing monk ceremonies.
We will update this post as more information becomes available.
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On Thursday, March 26, during the last sesshin of the winter 2026 practice period, a fire destroyed our beloved zendo at Tassajara. Fortunately, no one was injured, even as the blaze raged for several hours. Although the cause is still unknown, the result is known: charred wood, scorched metal, grey ash, and open space are all that remain of the structure, which had stood since 1978.
Once residents noticed the fire around 11:50 pm, they notified Abbot David Zimmerman, who is leading the ango. Fortunately, Abbot David was one of the five fire monks who saved the monastery in 2008 from the Basin Complex Fire.
“As someone who’s had experience with fire at Tassajara before, it’s been beneficial to have me here to support the sangha with both meeting the fire and handling the post-fire impacts and realities,” he said.
Many of the 32 residents battled the blaze with an old-fashioned fire brigade, using buckets to carry water from the creek and numerous irrigation spigots to quell the flames. The fire was mostly contained when volunteer firefighters from the nearby hamlet of Cachagua arrived at 12:30 am. They stayed on site until 6:30 am and no evacuations were necessary. Steve Scarlett, a local friend of ZMC and retired firefighter, was also on hand to help with the efforts
In a Facebook post on Friday morning, the Cachagua Fire Department wrote: “The staff at the Tassajara Mountain Zen Center should be incredibly proud; their initial fire attack efforts helped keep the fire contained, buying critical time for responding apparatus to arrive and preventing further damage. Thanks to their quick actions, only one structure was lost.”
Abbot David said the Fire Department recommended monitoring the ruins for 24 hours to ensure no hidden embers reignite. However, the residents kept an hourly vigil for two days over the charred wood, scorched metal, and gray ash. There were no flare-ups.
Most of the buildings at Tassajara have been without electricity since the fire; fortunately, there’s still power in the Stone Office and the kitchen, so there is refrigeration and residents are able to cook meals. However, internet access is limited, and the bathhouse has hot water only for a few hours a day.
In addition to the zendo, the fire also razed the public bathrooms and the first aid shed at the bottom of the east stairs that run parallel to Carbaga Creek. The outer wall of the library facing the back of the zendo was scorched, but the library interior was unscathed.
Fortunately, a number of precious ceremonial instruments also went unscathed: the mokugyo and the wide, heavy brass bell had already been moved into the library. (Traditionally, during sesshin, only the small bell is used during liturgical services and oryoki meals to minimize sensory distractions.) The taiko drum and the densho on the wooden walkway were also saved from the flames, as was the central wooden altar.
However, the altar’s centerpiece—the 2,000-year-old stone Buddha statue—cracked and crumbled against the outer library wall, where it had been placed for safekeeping. Miraculously, the head is still intact. This is the second time this museum-quality Gandharan (500-700 C.E.) Buddha has been damaged in a fire. During the 1978 zendo fire, it broke into pieces and was painstakingly and beautifully restored by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. See pages 30-31 of the Summer 1983 Wind Bell for full restoration details.
During the 2008 Basin Complex fire, the late Myogen Steve Stucky, SFZC Abbot from 2007 until his death in 2013, buried the statue in the bocce court, where it safely rested for a week while the fire monks battled the encroaching wildfire.
This is also the second time that a Tassajara zendo has burned. In April 1978, the original zendo that was located in the current student eating area burned down. According to the Winter 1978-79 Wind Bell, the new zendo was erected in the Upper Garden during work period. It was supposed to be “temporary,” and while it became more permanent than initially intended, its recent destruction reminds us that everything is transient.
“Tassajara practice continues uninterrupted,” Abbot David said. “The sangha is resilient. Canyon wrens sing on the kaisando roof in the morning, and frogs chant along Cabarga Creek at night. Gratitude to the Buddhas and Ancestors, the mountains and waters, for this liberative Way of life.”
Zendo Fire Donations: giving.sfzc.org/zendo-fire
Image is of the Tassajara zendo han when it was first hung. Calligraphy by then Abbot Myogen Steve Stücky. Photo by Renshin Bunce.











