Fire burns laundry room at Camp Newman

A fire at a private camp in northeast Santa Rosa destroyed a large laundry room, washers and dryers, a truck and workshop, causing about $250,000 damage, a Sonoma County fire official said Tuesday.

Monday night’s fire at Camp Newman on rural Porter Creek Road was an accident, but the damage was too great to determine how the fire started, said Roberta MacIntyre, county fire marshal.

Firefighters got a 911 call just before 8 p.m. reporting smoke in the area. They arrived at the camp to find a building ablaze, according to emergency dispatch reports.

Several fire agencies responded with seven engines and two water trucks. Mountain volunteers were first to the fire, arriving about 15 minutes after being dispatched.

Other agencies on the call were Cal Fire, Rincon Valley, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Sonoma County fire.

About 80 percent of the laundry room was lost, as well as 10 washers and dryers, a workshop holding tools and household items and a work truck, MacIntyre said.

Camp Newman is a Union for Reform Judaism youth camp. Recent improvements at the summer camp include new buildings, improved roads and upgraded facilities that aim to make the camp a year-round program.

Porter Creek Road is off of Mark West Springs Road, connecting northern Santa Rosa and Calistoga.