On Wednesday morning as the newspaper was going to press, the City of Healdsburg issued an evacuation advisory for the Fitch Mountain community, Bailhache Avenue and the retirement communities along the river as uncontrolled wildfires raged to the east, north and south.
“There is no immediate threat to Healdsburg, but we’re concerned about the winds tonight,” said Healdsburg City Manager David Mickaelian.
The city is concerned that anyone who feels concerned for their safety or who may have mobility or health issues has plenty of time to plan.
“We know that some folks need more time to move,” Mickaelian said.
The area was under a “red flag warning” Wednesday, with low humidity and high winds, similar conditions to those that drove the Tubbs Fire from Calistoga to Santa Rosa in a single night.
It seemed unlikely that a nearby fire could burn across the valley and jump the river to Fitch overnight, but no one thought a fire could jump a six-lane freeway in Santa Rosa until it happened.
The city’s advisory read: “The weather forecast calls for two wind events this afternoon and evening that may shift the direction of the fires. We are expecting afternoon winds from the N/NE to gust 10-20 miles per hour, and N/NE evening winds to gust 20-40 miles per hour. We don’t anticipate these winds to be as strong as the winds that spread the fires into Santa Rosa. Currently, there are two fires that we are monitoring: the Pocket Fire in the hills above Geyserville and the Tubbs Fire to the southeast. Neither of these fires currently threaten Healdsburg. However, as a precautionary measure, we are alerting residents in these areas to prepare in the event of a change of fire activity that causes us to call for a mandatory evacuation.”
Until the advisory, Healdsburg seemed relatively safe. The city had staff at the community center before dawn on Monday and it was ready as an evacuation center by 6:30 a.m., according to Rhea Borja, a city spokesperson. “We registered our first evacuee at 8 a.m.,” she said.
All day Monday and Tuesday, volunteers almost outnumbered evacuees at the community center, as help and support poured in.
“Cafe Lucia is supplying lunch and Catelli‘s is doing dinner,” saids LaMarion Spence, as he and Annie Loupy carried a large box of bread donated by Costeaux Bakery into the center on Tuesday.
Martha Nidy-Acosta, who usually spends her days helping others at her job at Alliance Medical Center, spent Monday night at the Healdsburg community center with her mother, who has health issues.
“We’re OK,” she said, “our house is in Mark West and it’s OK, but we have no power.”
Nidy-Acosta said her husband was trying to find a generator so they could run an air purifier in their home when they were allowed to return, so her mother could be comfortable.
Healdsburg Fire Chief Jason Boaz said that Healdsburg is well-protected. “We have one engine crew out helping on the Tubbs Fire, but everyone else is here,” he said.
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