Alpine fire flares up, sends smoke over Monte Rio

Firefighters are expected to remain at the scene of a Monte Rio fire for several more days after it flared up Tuesday night, more than a week after it was discovered on a steep hillside.

Additional firefighters were dispatched to the blaze as it sent smoke over the lower Russian River community, according to Cal Fire officials.

The flare-up added an acre to the fire’s size, bringing it to an estimated 22 acres. Cal Fire said the blaze was contained Wednesday.

Firefighters began working the blaze, dubbed the Alpine fire, on March 1. It was discovered in thick forest in a remote area above Alpine Terrace, a narrow, winding Monte Rio street on the south side of the Russian River, west of Bohemian Highway.

No homes have been threatened by the blaze and nobody has been evacuated, officials said.

Firefighters have created a control line around the blaze in an effort to stop it from spreading..

Cal Fire Capt. Tom Lee said it was unclear what triggered the overnight flare-up.

He said Cal Fire was working to suppress the fire until this past weekend, when it largely calmed down and firefighters assigned to the blaze were monitoring it “just making sure we weren’t having any more issues.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said. Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nicholls said his agency does not disclose any speculation about what may have ignited a fire until an investigation is complete.

Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said last week that the Alpine fire is one of six “suspicious” blazes that have ignited over the past month in Monte Rio.

Baxman said he was advising residents along the lower Russian River to “take note of any suspicious people they see in the area, especially at night.”

The Alpine fire is burning amid unusually dry winter conditions. While Sonoma County got a deluge of rain during the fall, including a record-breaking 7.83 inches in Santa Rosa on Oct. 24, the county has seen less than an inch of precipitation since Jan. 1, according to data collected by the National Weather Service.

A rain gauge at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa has logged 22.37 inches of precipitation since Oct. 1, which is about 83% of normal. But the 0.81 inches recorded since the beginning of 2022 represents 5% of normal during that time.

The lack of winter rain has allowed vegetation to dry out, creating easy fuel for wildfires, Nicholls said.

"Right now in early March, our burning conditions are at where we would be in early June in a normal year,“ Nicholls said.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.