Cause of destructive blaze at Sonoma Valley vacation home remains unknown

After more than two days of digging through the debris of a three-story vacation home fire in the hills above Sonoma Valley, investigators weren’t able to determine what started the estimated $1 million blaze.

The damage was too great to pinpoint a cause for Sunday’s pre-dawn fire, which started just outside the Viewcrest Drive home, Sonoma Valley Fire Chief Steve Akre said Wednesday. Possibilities include an electrical issue or smoking, which a team of investigators couldn’t rule out.

The home was occupied that night by eight people renting the hillside, 2,500-square-foot home for a Wine Country vacation. It was the group’s first night in the home.

Two couples from Chicago and two from San Francisco lost all their belongings, including identification and car keys. They’d gotten out wearing only what they’d been sleeping in or could quickly grab after one woman awoke from the fire’s noise and the glow of flames on a deck outside her bedroom. She yelled for everyone to get out.

For homeowners Kevin McCarthy and David Bui of San Francisco, the fire took their future retirement residence and wiped out five years of work they’d done on their dream home.

“Right now, we can’t even think about it, how much work we had put into it,” Bui said, citing the loss of art and antiques in a house that offered sweeping views of the valley and also San Pablo Bay. The fire was the worst of four house fires in two weeks in the Sonoma Valley.

This one prompted multiple calls for help early Sunday, starting about ?1:30 a.m. Just blocks from the Center Street station, firefighters could see flames shooting into the sky from a home near the crest of the remote Diamond A neighborhood above Arnold Drive.

The sight caused Sonoma Valley Battalion Chief Bob Norrbom to alert dispatchers they’d need additional help.

In all, nine engines and two water trucks responded from several agencies.

Norrbom, in an SUV, arrived first and found two distraught people at the open gate to the home’s long, narrow drive.

They assured him the other six friends were safely out and being cared for at a neighbor’s home. That was a relief to the veteran Sonoma firefighter, who said the flames pouring from the second and third floors eliminated the chance of a house search.

The blaze’s head start - the first engine would not arrive until 9 minutes after the dispatch call - allowed flames to spread from the deck up the wooden exterior to the roof and into the house. Firefighters had the fire controlled at 2:23 a.m.

Bui on Wednesday was grateful for the help given his guests. Neighbors took them in and offered clothing and blankets. Red Cross volunteers guided them on how to replace their identification and Norrbom wrote a letter, hoping it would help the Chicago resident get on a plane home without tickets or ID.

Bui, who arrived during the firefight, helped the displaced vacationers get to San Francisco that night.

He said he expects he and his husband will rebuild. “We have to get over the loss first.”

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