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ARTICLE
ARTICLEPeanutsfans, THAT ice rink survived.
The skating rink that was surely inspiration for a thousand comic strip ideas, everything from Charlie Brown wiping out on the ice to Snoopy's epic bird bath ice rink battles, somehow remained standing even as Schulz's nearby home burned to the ground.
That news was devastating to millions of Peanutsfans around the world: Charles Schulz's Santa Rosa, California, home and potentially all of its memorabilia were lost in the California wildfires that ravaged hundreds of thousands of acres and claimed dozens of lives.
SEE ALSO: How to help survivors of the devastating Northern California wildfiresIt was where Schulz lived and worked on the Peanutscomic strip from 1969 until his death in 2000. Schulz' widow, Jeannie, escaped before the fire claimed her home. Also destroyed were the homes of Schulz's son, Craig, and other Peanuts Worldwidestaff members. They were not injured in the fires.
Somehow, though, Schulz's 48-year-old ice hockey rink, also known as "Snoopy's Home Ice," survived, as did The Charles M. Schulz Museum and its vast Peanuts and Schulz archives.
Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns and manages the Peanuts franchise shared the encouraging news about the rink and museum with Mashableon Thursday.
Inside Snoopy's Home Ice rink. Credit: Snoopy's Home ice A museum spokesperson said, "The Charles M. Schulz Museum is so thankful for the heartwarming messages of caring and concern over the past week as we experienced a devastating fire in our community. The Museum is safe and the staff took all the necessary steps to ensure a safe evacuation of the art to securing storage for other artifacts. We are now in the process of stabilizing the air within the Museum and will then begin the process of cleaning the interior of the Museum, as well as examining and cleaning the art."
Overall, it's a tiny ray of hope amidst thousands of acres of devastation, and will cheer longtime Peanutsfans well aware of Schulz's affection for skating and, in particular, ice hockey.
Schulz grew up in Minnesota, which some have dubbed, "The State of Hockey," and often drew many of Peanuts characters on the ice. Ice skating is featured prominently in the 1965 television classic A Charlie Brown Christmasand, again, in all-CGI Peanuts Movie released in 2015.
“We are so grateful Charles Schulz’s ice arena and favorite place to hang out is still here for the community to enjoy. Now more than ever we need a space to connect and feel a sense of normalcy.” said Gina Huntsinger, General Manager of Snoopy’s Home Ice.
When asked why he built the rink, Schulz quipped in a very Charlie Brown way, "Gives me a chance to play when nobody else would ever let me."
You can see more of the rink below in these photos and 2012 video.
Outside the rink is this optical illusion Peanuts photo opp. Credit: snoopy's home ice 
Christmas time inside the rink. Snoopy must be skating around there somewhere. Credit: snoopy's home ice