Fire displaces volunteer at Geyserville animal sanctuary

Fire destroyed a small structure at a Geyserville retreat center and animal sanctuary late Thursday, displacing one volunteer from her sleeping quarters but otherwise not affecting guests or animals, the director said.

Isis Oasis Retreat Center director de Traci Regula said that a lamp may have started the fire at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday in a mobile home on the edge of the 8-acre property where a volunteer had been living for about seven months.

“She was in the living room and noticed something was wrong in the bedroom,” Regula said. “She went to open the door and found that a fire had broken out.”

Geyserville Fire Protection District Capt. Joe Stewart said that the double-wide structure was destroyed, and estimated the damage at about $200,000-300,000.

The home was at the back of the property - just on the other side of the fence from the fire district’s station on Geyserville Avenue. Members of the volunteer fire crew saw the smoke from the neighboring property when they opened the garage door after the 10:39 p.m. call, Stewart said.

The volunteer, who wasn’t identified, initially tried to use a fire extinguisher, but the device didn’t work and she then grabbed her dog and ran outside, according to both Regula and Stewart. Her hair was singed when she ran back inside to grab her cellphone.

Stewart said fire crews launched an exterior firefight but could not save the residence. They kept the fire from spreading to a nearby structure.

Regula said the volunteer, who works with the animals at the center’s sanctuary, was doing fine although she is “pretty shaken up, of course.”

“We did call Red Cross for her,” Regula said. “We put her up at another place on our property,” Regula said.

Founded in 1978 by the late Loreon Vigne, Isis Oasis is an Egyptian-themed resort and animal sanctuary that is home to an assortment of exotic cats, reptiles, emus and other animals. The site is also home to the Temple of Isis, a legally recognized church honoring the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, who represented Mother Earth.

Regula said that the center would remain open.

“Our core operations are unaffected, we will be honoring all events and reservations as scheduled, it doesn’t affect anyone that may be coming here,” Regula said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.