Santa Rosa fire displaces westside residents

A fire damaged a west Santa Rosa residence late Sunday night, displacing a family who had lost a home in the devastating 2017 firestorm that swept through large areas of Sonoma County, authorities said.

The homeowners Ross Gadeberg and Diane Geraldi and at least one dog were in the Peterson Lane home when the blaze broke out around 10 p.m. A smell of smoke drew them to the back of the house where flames burned in the master bedroom, said Sam Lashley, Santa Rosa fire inspector.

Gadeberg attempted to put out the fire with a back yard garden hose but couldn’t stop it, Lashley said.

Santa Rosa firefighters arrived to the bedroom fire and heavy smoke in the rest of the house. They cut holes in the roof to ventilate and held the flames to the bedroom.

An investigation included an electrical issue may have been the cause, Lashley said. The damage was about $80,000.

The couple had lived in Glen Ellen in October 2017 when several fires erupted and destroyed thousands of homes.

Randi Rossmann