Wind causes fire and power outages
With water levels at a historic low, the long-awaited rain last week was welcomed but the windstorm that followed, causing fire and power outages, was not.
While residents in Healdsburg and Southern Windsor experienced power outages on Friday, more than 3,500-acres burned east of Cloverdale after a large windstorm blew through the area.
Over 100 fire engines, 65 fire crew and close to 1700 personnel from departments across several counties worked together to contain the fire which an incident report released by CalFire said is expected to be contained by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, after press time.
The Cloverdale Fire Protection District was part of the initial strike team working with CalFire, as well as agencies from Geyserville and Healdsburg. Cloverdale still has one water tender with a crew at the fire.
“We had two Type 3 engines, and one water tender on the scene, and Cloverdale Ambulance had one vehicle on stand-by,” said Cloverdale Fire Captain Roger Fletcher.
Fire fighting personnel from all over the state staged their vehicles on the Tyris property off of Santana Drive in Cloverdale.
“Once the Cooperating Agencies are deployed, then the State Office of Emergency Services puts out a request for other agencies throughout the state. Strike teams from Sonoma and Marin were mobilized. Vehicles and crews came from as far away as San Bernadino,” Fletcher said.
Hotels in Ukiah, Cloverdale and Healdsburg housed firefighters during their assigned rest periods and local equipment rental companies supplied chairs, lights and other equipment.
According to Fletcher, the winds were too erratic for aircraft to support the fire-fighting effort. On Friday and Saturday there were winds up to 67 miles per hour.
“They calmed way down on Sunday so that the fire didn’t continue to grow. It is still burning but burning into itself,” Fletcher commented.
Within Healdsburg city limits, moviegoers, diners and residents were also affected by the wind experiencing power outages and damage to property. Early Friday evening, Healdsburg resident Chris Love received a call from a neighbor that her daughter’s roof was blowing off.
“The kids weren’t home, thank goodness, because the sound was just unreal … the roof folded in half and then the fireman tried to rope it down and another gust came and the fireman that was on the roof fell,” Love said.
Where Firefighter Christopher Manson fell there was a tree, a metal swing set and a metal picnic table but he landed on the gravel and walked away with a broken arm.
“If you believe in miracles, that was a miracle,” Love said.
The large-scale power outage also kept customers in Windsor in the dark for several hours but no major structural damage or fires were reported. Road closures effecting the public included Cloverdale-Geysers Road cross of Squaw Creek Road and Healdsburg-Geyser Road at Mercuryville.
