Kitchen fire forces temporary closure of Michelin-starred Single Thread restaurant in Healdsburg

A fire that escaped the Single Thread restaurant’s hood system and was visible from the roof was quickly extinguished by the staff and Healdsburg fire crews Friday night.

Restaurant patrons were evacuated from the three-story, upscale eatery located at 131 North St. near downtown before firefighters arrived at 10:45 p.m., 4 minutes after the call, according to firefighter John Sullivan.

“By all accounts the staff did a really good job of keeping everything contained and calming everybody,” he said.

Sullivan said his crew found smoke and some smoking insulation inside.

“(The fire) had come out of the rooftop through pipes coming from the (kitchen) hood,” he said. “We found some superheated ducting; overheated grease could have caused it to ignite.”

Crews cooled the entire ductwork from the third floor all the way down, Sullivan said. A thermal imaging camera showed the fire in the ducts reached 600 degrees.

A damage estimate for the iconic farm restaurant, which has a rating of three Michelin stars, will have to wait until Healdsburg building and health staff evaluate the smoke condition and whether any of the floor and wall coverings are carcinogenic and need to be removed, Sullivan said.

Ducting will likely have to be replaced and the kitchen cleaned up so it may be some time before Single Thread can welcome back customers, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.