Over the next two weeks, Sonoma West Times & News will be rehashing 2020 in west county. We’ll be reviewing the biggest events in the local schools, as well as covering topics such as COVID-19, health care, homelessness and more.
WILDFIRES
Mother Nature cranked up the difficulty settings for west county this year when a lightning storm on Aug. 17 sparked the Walbridge Fire west of Healdsburg and the smaller Meyers Fire north of Jenner.
These blazes, along with the Hennessy Fire in Napa County, ultimately amassed to be the fourth largest wildfire in the recorded history of California, known as the LNU Lightning Complex Fire.
Communities along the coast and the Russian River evacuated and tried to balance the need for shelter and the risks of COVID-19 with work life and distance learning in disarray, although many districts subsequently cancelled school.
“We are in a tense holding pattern right now waiting to see what the wind does. There is a credible threat to Northern Guerneville, including Armstrong Valley and Rio Nido,” said 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins on Aug. 19, adding the Walbridge Fire had crept into Armstrong Woods.
The next day, CalFire Ben Nicholls said firefighters defended lines at Sweetwater Springs Road, but were forced to allow the Stewarts Fire by Lake Sonoma and Skaggs Springs Road to merge with the Walbridge Fire to keep up the fight with significantly fewer resources than a fire that massive would call for.
By Aug. 21, CalFire reported the Walbridge Fire expanded to 21,125, with 0% containment while crews held the Meyers Fire north of Jenner at 3,000 acres, 0% contained as reported by Sonoma West Times & News.
More evacuation warnings and orders were issued. The Walbridge Fire more than doubled in size by Aug. 23 at 51,072 acres and 0% containment. as firefighters contained 70% of the Meyers Fire, clutching 2,360 acres coastside.
Hopkins noted the density of the forests and vegetation contributed to the Walbridge Fire’s spread. CalFire had to get creative with bulldozers and hand crews to secure the lines across west county’s complex terrain.
The locals got by with a little help from their friends. A band of about 25 neighbors from Drake Road in Guerneville relocated to the Petaluma KOA campground and established “Guerneville South,” sharing meals.
Resident Shawn Boland told Sonoma West staff his neighbors kayaked Drake Road together when Guerneville flooded in 2019. One neighbor volunteered to stay behind and watch over his two aging dogs, one of whom weighed 180 pounds and couldn’t walk.
Another memory was made when the fire worsened and Boland hurried home to get the animals with some friends, who helped carry the dog down the stairs in a towel and into the minivan.
Towards the end of the month, a surge of evacuation orders had been lifted for fire refugees from much of the county to return home as the air gained moisture, while some from more hard-hit zones waited for various agencies to secure infrastructure damages.
Sonoma West Times & News reported that Senator Mike Thompson, Assemblymember Jim Wood and other government officials addressed communities over Zoom to discuss recovery, insurance filings, rehabilitating the watershed, debris removal and reentry timelines on Aug. 27.
The Walbridge fire was 25% contained by Aug. 28, having already inhaled 55,353 acres. The following night, CalFire announced the two fires had destroyed 118 single family homes, damaged seven, and wrecked 93 minor structures like barns and outbuildings in addition to one piece of infrastructure, as covered by Sonoma West Times & News.
On the upside, CalFire Chief Ben Nicholls said crews prevented the fire from creeping deeper into Armstrong Woods, where it reached the redwoods.
By Aug. 30, firefighters achieved 58% containment of the Walbridge Fire and about finished the job north of Jenner with 99% of the Meyers Fire snuffed at a little over 2,300 acres.
Nearly two weeks since the evacuations began, the county gave notice of local assistance centers opening in Guerneville and Healdsburg to offer residents personal protective equipment, information and Spanish interpretation.
The month drew to a close with the worst of the fires now passed and service providers continued to take action, like the Redwood Empire Food Bank distributing food to Walbridge evacuees in Guerneville, alongside Sebastopol’s Dogwood Animal Rescue providing the pet food.
As west county set about the recovery process, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) offered disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers assessing damages to their land and livestock.
Sweetwater Springs Road was finally freed from its evacuation order September 8, after the rest of the evacuation orders and warnings linked to the LNU Complex Fire had lifted, according to Sonoma West Times & News.
The complex fire wouldn’t be fully extinguished until Oct. 2, according to CalFire, but not before burning 363,220 acres and destroying 1,491 structures.
Sonoma West Times & News reported the deadline to apply for the state wildfire debris removal program has been extended to Jan. 15, 2021. According to the county administrator’s office Dec. 3, applications for federal aid through FEMA were due Dec. 11, but those impacted by Walbridge, Meyers and the later Glass Fire had until Dec. 16 to apply for various federal disaster assistance programs.
Again, in the middle of a pandemic.
