Woman, animals escape Forestville house fire

A Forestville woman and her pets escaped a fire Wednesday night that started in her basement and threatened to spread into her house, firefighters said.

The blaze occurred about 7:30 p.m. at the home in the 9000 block of Argonne Way, Forestville fire engineer Matt Eggleston said.

Firefighters arrived within minutes to find flames in the basement and thick smoke pouring into the house, he said.

Crews extinguished the fire by 8 p.m. but smoke and electrical damage displaced the woman, her dog and pet snakes, Eggleston said.

Red Cross volunteers were called in to assist her.

Eggleston estimated damage at $150,000. A preliminary investigation points to electrical wiring in the basement as the cause, he said.

Firefighters from Graton and Russian River departments assisted.

-Paul Payne