Jackson's Neverland Under Fire

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Jackson's Neverland Under Fire

Fri., Aug. 25, 2006 5:30 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Pixie dust wasn't going to help Neverland out of this one.

A wildfire scorched about 40 acres of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Friday, coming within a quarter-mile of the Santa Ynez compound's main residence, the Associated Press reported.

According to Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Jeff Ross, no structures, including the merry-go-round, caught fire.

Jackson, of course, was not anywhere near the residence as about 100 firefighters and water-dropping helicopters battled the blaze. The erstwhile King of Pop has been living in Bahrain since being acquitted of child molestation charges last summer, and he announced in June that's he's planning a move to Europe.

Not too many other people were around, either, most likely. Jackson closed down the estate's main house in March after he was ordered by the California Department of Industrial Relations to shell out $306,000 in back wages to ranch employees. The reimbursed workers have also been under orders from the state to not return to their jobs until Jackson provides them with that little something extra, otherwise known as workers' comp insurance.

The Thriller purveyor's rep, Raymone Bain, said in June that Jackson had no plans to sell Neverland--despite the tremendous expense involved in maintaining all that land, the exotic animals and the amusement park rides--and surmised that, at some point, he's going to move back.