Investigation underway for Healdsburg house fire

Investigators returned Wednesday to a Healdsburg home, looking for the cause of Tuesday night’s fire that gutted much of the home and displaced a woman and her dog.

The fire apparently started on a back deck and spread into the ?single-story home, burning a significant amount of the residence and causing smoke and heat damage to the rest, Healdsburg Fire Chief Jason Boaz said Wednesday. The contents also were destroyed and the chief estimated the damage at more than $200,000.

Callers reported smoke and flames at the home about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. The resident had left the house about an hour before it started and came back to find the fire, Boaz said. She’d taken her small dog with her and no one was inside when the fire started.

The timing coincided with drill night for Healdsburg firefighters.

“It was all hands. We were all here training,” said Boaz. The added firefighters allowed the city’s four engines to respond.

They found flames coming through the roof and up the back of the house. That, plus heavy tree and brush cover on the property and the threat to neighboring homes prompted a fire captain to call for a second alarm, bringing additional help that corralled the fire on the property.

In addition to Healdsburg, Geyserville, Cal Fire, Sonoma County Fire and Cloverdale fire agencies responded.

Firefighters were unable to determine the cause of the fire because the building sustained too much damage, according to Boaz.

Sherman Street is north of downtown Healdsburg, off Healdsburg Avenue.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.