Grass fire burns near Sebastopol

A roughly 20-acre grass fire off a rural residential road outside Sebastopol drew a huge response from local fire agencies Wednesday afternoon.

The blaze, in the 1600 block of Cooper Road southeast of downtown Sebastopol, was first reported about 10 minutes after 2 p.m., according to emergency dispatchers. It was contained an hour later.

The road is a mix of homes and agricultural properties abutting open grassland.

The fire burned mainly in grass and didn’t damage any structures, said Darrin DeCarli, battalion chief for Gold Ridge Fire Department.

Sonoma County Animal Services was called in to help evacuate some horses, an emergency dispatcher said.

Firefighters from Gold Ridge, Sebastopol, Graton, Cal Fire, Occidental Forestville and Rancho Adobe departments responded, DeCarli said. At first they had trouble accessing the blaze in order to start fighting it. The Sheriff’s Office helicopter provided help from the sky.

The blaze appears to have started by someone mowing their lawn in the hot afternoon sun, DeCarli said.

“Make sure if you’re gonna be mowing to do it before 10 a.m. and make sure you have the right equipment,” he cautioned.

A couple of chickens died as a result of the fire, possibly from the smoke, said Maja Sidzinska, whose husband runs an egg farm affected by the fire. Some pasture land was lost in the fire, as well.

Staff Writer Jamie Hansen blogs about education at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach her at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jamiehansen.