On Monday afternoon, the last day of July, multiple fire agencies responded to a vegetation fire that spread from the North Village development north of town. North Village, which includes housing and shopping areas, is expected to open in the autumn but is still under construction.
The fire is believed to have started during vegetation management activity on the property, but it quickly grew into nearby oak grasslands in the jurisdiction of the Northern Sonoma County Fire district.
It was first reported at about 2:30pm. As the fire began, a billowing tower of brown and white smoke rose north of Healdsburg, attracting the attention of residents and leading to heavy traffic on Healdsburg Avenue past the North Village entrance, which was closed to traffic for the duration of the event.
Due to the time of day and windy conditions, the footprint of the fire grew and jumped Highway 101, at one time burning on both sides of the freeway, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Marshall Turbeville. However, a quick response by fire control agencies corralled the fire and brought it under control by 3:45pm.
“In that area, both sides of the freeway have burned quite often, it seems like every couple years,” said Turbeville. “So we know how to get on the west side of the freeway through the Healdsburg Cal Fire station. That’s where the ’dozer line was already pre-existing, which stopped the fast spread of the fire.” He was referring to firebreaks created by bulldozers in the rural, roadless area.
On the east side of the freeway, where the fire began, a road leads directly to the presumed point of origin and a hydrant was available. On the west side of 101, CalFire has a station with a small reservoir, Lytton Lake.
“So there was essentially unlimited water, which is helpful,” said Turbeville, who served as the battalion chief or incident coordinator in the fire response.
The land crews were assisted by four Cal Fire aircraft, including two helicopters. “We had two tankers from Sonoma air attack base and two choppers; one was from Boggs Mountain Helitack Base and the other was a Sikorsky air attack crane that came out of Sonoma Air Attack Base,” said Healdsburg Fire Chief Jason Boaz.
Boggs Mountain is near Middletown in Lake County. The Sonoma Air Attack base is located near the Sonoma County Airport.The fixed-wing aircraft spread retardant on the fire’s margins, while the helicopters dropped loads of water sourced from the nearby Lytton Lake.
Among the agencies responding were the Healdsburg Fire Department, Northern Sonoma County Fire, Cloverdale Fire Protection District, Dry Creek Rancheria and Cal Fire, which sent multiple aircraft and land crews from as far away as Hood Mountain.
During the fire response, Highway 101 was closed to both north and southbound traffic between Dry Creek Avenue and Lytton Springs, and traffic diverted along north Healdsburg Avenue directly past the North Village development where crews were working to control the fire.
Given the concern that residents have about summer fires, the rapid and thorough response of fire agencies was to be expected. “Fire season” was once thought to be contained to the late summer months, but recent warming climate trends and a long-lasting drought have made fire risk practically year-round.
“Our biggest risk for a fire is in the afternoon. And that’s what yesterday demonstrated,” said Turbeville. “We had our winds from the south; where the fire started was on a south aspect. So you had wind blowing on a hillside, and everything aligned.”
Turbeville cautioned residents to be attentive to the seasonal risk of fire, saying, “We just need people to be extra safe during the summer afternoons not to start a fire. People really need to pay most attention in the afternoons of every day, because that’s our greatest potential for a fire.”
