Deep pain for those who lost everything in the Kincade fire

Scott Newman watched the Kincade fire creep up a ridge behind his property in the Knights Valley east of Healdsburg, setting the Mayacamas foothills aglow as flames fought against the wind to climb uphill to the east.

He likened it to a mountain lion, ready to pounce. From there, it would duck and dart before, Newman recalled, “rearing up like a stallion.”

This was true wildfire. It would go on to level six homes on the property owned by Newman's family along Highway 128.

Newman, who volunteers with the Knights Valley Volunteer Fire Company, refuses to be called a firefighter but serves with some he would honor with the label. None could do anything to stop the blaze that tore through his property the night of Oct. 27.

“I feel accountability for the family because everything burned and here I am playing fireman,” he said. “It's hard to describe the chaos.”

The Newman family's homes are among 174 that burned in the Kincade fire, which consumed 77,758 acres over the last nine days, becoming the largest wildfire in Sonoma County history.

The destruction came in bursts, concentrated within two terrifying mornings three days apart when ferocious offshore winds whipped through the Mayacamas. By the end of the week it would blacken 121 square miles of landscape, leaving a path of destruction that stretched from the aptly named Burned Mountain northeast of Geyserville to the upscale Shiloh Estates subdivision on the southeast edge of Windsor.

Most of the area burned by the fire was still closed to the public this week, but some homeowners managed to get in. Folks like Frank Mongini, who runs the 150-year-old Oak Ridge Angus ranch and had to feed his cattle, mostly with donated hay.

Some of the cattle made their way to the Newmans' property, finding water in their swimming pool and a bit of green grass.

Mongini married into the LaFranchi family, which owns Oak Ridge. They lost almost everything in the fire, and Mongini said he would need another week to process the loss.

Thursday afternoon, a little ways north of the LaFranchis' cattle ranch, traffic buzzed around the Alexander Valley, one of the first populated places to burn.

Foothills to the east offered a blackened, smoky reminder of the first wave of the fire, which erupted Oct. 23 in The Geysers geothermal field near a PG&E transmission tower. The tower, which malfunctioned around the time the fire started, had not been deactivated by PG&E during a blackout designed to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires during the windstorm. Investigators have not determined what role, if any, PG&E equipment played in the fire's origin.

The wind-driven inferno spread quickly on Oct. 24, taking out the home of Jackson Family Wines scion Julia Jackson, burning six buildings on Garden Creek Vineyards property and singeing the 150-year-old Robert Young Winery property. It took property along Geysers Road, Ridge Ranch Road, Wilson Lane, Red Winery Road and along Highway 128 - basically from Moody Lane to Pine Flat Road, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Marshall Turbeville said.

A short reprieve followed. Fewer than 10 structures were destroyed mid-day Oct. 24 through Oct. 25, but the fire was not finished. On Oct. 26, another four to eight homes along Pine Flat Road were destroyed when flames blew across that road.

The following day, another pulse of wind sent the fire tearing down Highway 128 early Sunday morning, gutting Soda Rock Winery. The stone facade of the 150-year-old building, backlit by orange and yellow flames flickering in the smoke and rubble, became one of the indelible images documenting Kincade's fury.

It would be the worst day yet. That morning, the fire burned homes all the way down Chalk Hill Road to Shiloh Estates, taking nearly 80% of the structures destroyed during the fire.

The winds Sunday morning were of historic proportions, reaching hurricane force at sustained speeds above 70 mph and gusting, at least once, above 100 mph in the hills.

“It's a sight to see,” Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore said during an emergency meeting Thursday morning in Rohnert Park. “That's not a fire, it's a tornado.”

Despite its size, despite its unusual behavior, it wasn't as bad as October 2017, when fires killed 24 people in Sonoma County and destroyed 5,300 ? homes, largely in a single night.

As last week drew to a close, public safety officials were celebrating their victories: a robust warning system, an efficient emergency operations center and a heroic effort by more than 5,000 firefighters that prevented thousands of homes from being destroyed.

But Turbeville also acknowledged the painful losses.

“It's going to take a while to get back,” he said. “And for some people, it's not gonna be normal for maybe the rest of their lives.”

At Newman's property, home to 20 head of cattle and acres of wine grapes, a firefighter from Washington state stopped by to check in. Newman thanked him, but acknowledged he was anxious about saving what little he had left.

“I'm sorry for everything you lost,” the firefighter said, before driving off.

This isn't a feel-good story. Not for the LaFranchis or the Jacksons or for Newman, who on Thursday was still sorting through the rubble of his family's life's work.

But Newman will try to make it one.

The 60-year-old Knights Valley man sees the destruction wrought by the Kincade fire as a chance for renewal. That means clearing trees and brush - even the stuff that didn't totally burn. It means finding a better way to build, and building in more strategic spots on the 500-acre plot.

“I know we can do better,” he said.

Newman's already got a theme for his rebuild. It's written in sharpie atop a manila folder sitting on the bed of his pickup. It says “Newman Ranch Rising.”

His parents are aging. His 87-year-old dad, Peter, built this place by hand starting in 1962 and is devastated by the loss. Six piles of ash on 500 acres is all that's left to show of his work.

But Newman is convinced he can change the attitude. There's one building left - a barn. Work was already underway Thursday to transform it into a project office. From there, he can show his dad, before he goes, that the ranch will carry on. Newman's eyes glistened while painting the picture.

“I hope - I kind of hope it makes him proud.”

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or at tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @tylersilvy.