A structure fire broke out early Wednesday morning, April 22, at the Armida Winery on Westside Road, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage to a large deck on the property, according to Healdsburg Fire Department reserve and former CalFire Battalion Chief, Kim Thompson.
With flames visible from Highway 101, the fire was reported by the Healdsburg Police Department around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and four engines from various fire agencies responded to the call.
Some Healdsburg residents also reported seeing flames from Westside Road on the “What’s Happening Healdsburg” Facebook group.
According to Thompson, the biggest issue with the fire, contained to the 1,500 square foot deck, was the lack of water.
In addition to Healdsburg Fire responding, Geyserville, Cloverdale, Sonoma County and the Forestville Fire Protection District responded and provided water tenders. A crew of about 12 worked on containing the fire.
Since the weather conditions were favorable and there wasn’t much wind, crews were able to contain the fire to the deck and the landscaping surrounding the paved road and the bocce ball court on the property. No other structures were damaged.
“The deck was a total loss. The large oak tree was still standing, but it probably won’t survive and we’ll probably have to cut it down,” Thompson said. He noted if this fire had occurred perhaps a month later at the start of the fire season, that the scenario could have been much different.
In terms of cause of the fire, Thompson believes it could have been from an electric short in the lights that surround the deck.
Fire crews were on scene until about 4:30 a.m. and winery personnel were notified.
In an April 22 Facebook post, the winery wrote, “Everyone is safe and doing fine. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the first responders for containing the fire. More updates to come as we know more information.”
The winery is still offering drive by grab and go services for wine pick up between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. any day of the week, and online ordering and shipping.
For more information about the winery, visit: http://www.armida.com/.
