Santa Rosa Fire.

The Beginning

Sunday night around 10:30, just before going to bed  the news was reporting a fire in the hills of Napa and one in Calistoga (about 20 miles away).
They were also forecasting high winds over night.

The Call.

Around 3:00 in the morning the phone began ringing. By the time I got to the phone they had hung up but left a message. It was Patti’s daughter saying to call her back.

As I was crawling back into bed I told Patti to call Dina.

I heard some mumbling as Patti talked to Dina, then I heard Patti say WHAT? OH MY GOD!!!

It was then that we learned that, that small fire in Calistoga had burned its way across the mountains pushed by up to 75 mile per hour winds and was now consuming the northern end of Santa Rosa.

Surrounded.

By mid day Santa Rosa was practically surrounded by fires. Whole subdivisions have been lade waste on the north,west and east side of town. Towns to our east such as Glen Ellen have been destroyed.
There are fires moving in from the west and circling around to the south.

Looking For a Friend.

Our friend Lorraine had just bought a manufactured home in an upscale mobile home park in the northern part of town.
We heard the whole park had been burned to the ground.
So, Monday afternoon we tried to get to her place to see if what we heard was correct but we were turned away as all the roads going there were closed.

The smoke is real thick all over the area.

For the next day and night we were glued to our TV trying to get information on what was going on with the fires.

Try Again.

Tuesday, around noon we decided to try to locate Lorraine again. We drove back to the Mobil home park but this time we went around the back way and got in. We found Lorraine’s house and it was still standing.

Devastation.

We drove around the corner from Lorraine’s house and came upon a scene of total devastation.

We saw some people trying to salvage something from the catastrophe.

It looks like the place had been bombed. So Sad, 68 homes lost in just this one place. It is only one of many such places around the town that have been destroyed.

Now, to find Lorraine.

Lorraine’s neighbor was there checking on her own house and told us that Lorraine had gone to a shelter at the Finely Swim Center. We went to the center and Patti found Lorraine and both of her cats safe and sound.
Lorraine said that they were treating her and her cats just great and she was extremely happy to hear that her house was safe for now.

Smoke in the Hills.

We left Lorraine at the shelter and went home.
Around 5:00 we noticed smoke on the hillside around a mile southeast of us.

We are keeping a ear out for any evacuation orders. So far we are ok.

Today (Wednesday) it is still smoky and the fires are still devastating communities all around us. We are safe for now but the winds are supposed to rise again today.

So far over 2000 structures in Napa and Sonoma county have been destroyed. There are also fires burning in Geyserville and as far north as Ukiah.