Sonoma Valley homes rebuilt as wildfire hazards get attention

House by house, Sonoma Valley is making strides in its recovery while also learning lessons from past disasters and preparing for the upcoming wildfire season.

Of the 407 houses destroyed in the valley in the 2017 fires, five have been rebuilt, 127 are under construction, while permits have been filed to rebuild an additional 45 homes.

Glen Ellen, which lost 237 homes, is leading the recovery. Two houses have been completed, on Sylvia Drive and O'Donnell Lane, with another 72 under construction. Kenwood, which lost 139 houses, has three homes completed and 48 under construction. In Sonoma, seven houses are under construction.

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Building for the next disaster

Nancy King, executive director of Pets Lifeline animal shelter, got the call about 6 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. It was Sonoma City Manager Cathy Capriola, frantically gathering resources to help those evacuating from the fires, which were spreading quickly and unpredictably across Sonoma Valley.

“She wanted to know if we could take the pets of the people who were being evacuated,” King said.

Within a few hours, the shelter had taken in about a dozen cats and dogs from valley residents fleeing the approaching flames. By the early afternoon, the winds shifted, making it unclear whether the shelter on Eighth Street East would remain a safe haven in the firestorm.

The call was made to evacuate.

“In that moment, we had the volunteers and we had the vehicles to get everyone out, so we packed up and left,” she said.

About 100 shelter animals were loaded into vans and the mobile shelter, and relocated to the Marin Humane Society, while staff and volunteers took in the pets that residents dropped off for safe keeping.

“We all just brought the animals home with us until their owners could come back,” King said.

Eventually, all of the pets were reunited with their families, but Pets Lifeline realized there was work to be done to be more prepared next time. Since then, staff members have attended trainings and conferences focused on disaster preparedness and pets. The center is also working to incorporate its operations into the county's overall emergency response plan - an opportunity that arose as it looked to expand with a new facility.

At the time of the 2017 fires, Pets Lifeline was already in talks about building a new shelter. The ramshackle building it has inhabited since it opened in 1982 was woefully short on space. After the fires, it was clear the new shelter could double as an evacuation center and a critical resource for animals following a disaster.

The 11,000-square-foot expanded design was conceived considering two different needs, those of an animal shelter and those of an emergency center. Large multipurpose rooms will provide space for the shelter's animal-centered summer camps and puppy training classes. They also could house up to 100 people, and their pets, during an emergency.

Design elements for the new shelter have factored in disaster preparedness, building in elements that could be helpful should geographically isolated Sonoma Valley find itself cut off from outside resources. The shelter's $3.4 million plans include generators that could power the facility by solar, natural gas or propane. The rainwater collection system could provide potable water for up to 24 hours. The vermiculture system was designed to filter the water used to clean cages, but could also help with sewage waste management in a pinch.

The shelter's mobile adoption van, a common sight at the Friday farmers market in Sonoma, will be customized to house the equipment needed to build a pop-up emergency shelter and vet clinic almost anywhere, should the facility need to be evacuated again. Pets Lifeline will be able to transport and house up to 200 animals in individual crates at an off-site location. After a disaster, it could also be sent into affected areas to pick up lost and injured animals.

The shelter has raised $2.5 million to build the new center, with plans to break ground this fall.

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Fire-prone park gets ready

The land where Jack London State Historic Park sits has been hit by fire before. The Wolf House - London's dream home - was gutted by fire in 1913 and never rebuilt. A half century later, in 1964, 10,000 acres of Glen Ellen and Kenwood went up in flames.

Some years back, park officials installed fire hydrants on the grounds and sprinklers in the buildings, which proved a vital resource when the 2017 wildfires threatened the park.

“We had fire hoses going to wet down the whole area,” said Eric Metz, the park's director of operations.

But with every disaster, there's lessons to be learned. The towering eucalyptus grove, planted by London himself, now presented park officials with a new management dilemma.

Eucalyptus and the brush that grows around them can be explosive fuel for fires, and the grove's proximity to historic structures proved worrisome. Metz said the park created a plan to systematically clear brush from the acre grove.

“We will remove fire hazards and also make the area more accessible to the public after it's cleared,” Metz said.

He added that the park has always maintained a robust risk mitigation and fire safety plan, but now put added emphasis on the program. “It's always been a priority, but now it's our number one priority,” Metz said.

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Firefighters gearing up

Firefighters in Sonoma Valley are busy preparing their bodies, psyches and communities for another wildfire season. Their workout regiments kick into high gear, and each firefighter undergoes a rigorous physical exam to get a baseline for healthy bloodwork before the season starts. Valley fire departments have also enhanced mental health services to fight the emotional fatigue that can follow weeks of fighting wildfires.

“There's such a change from when I first started. That ‘suck it up and move on' attitude we now know isn't the right attitude,” said Steve Akre, chief of the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority, explaining that behavioral health and peer support groups are now available in the stations. “There's more suicides in firefighters than active service deaths. It's something we take seriously.”

The biggest change, however, has come in staffing of local departments.

The 2017 wildfires showed the cracks in the emergency response system, and the county and departments have worked to fill those gaps. County funds will now ensure the Schell-Vista, Sonoma, Valley of the Moon and Glen Ellen fire departments have more staffing on red flag warning days.

A new contract for service allows Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority to staff a paramedic on every firetruck in Glen Ellen.

Previously, Glen Ellen and Kenwood residents in medical distress had to wait for an ambulance to arrive from the stations in Agua Caliente or Sonoma.

“We're working to move everything into one system, which will improve services,” Akre said.

Firefighters are beginning to check rural properties for defensible space, ensuring homeowners follow county guidelines to protect structures from fire. A county grant will fund inspections at an additional 200 homes in the unincorporated areas of the valley in June.

“By no means can we check every property, but we'll do as many as we can,” Akre said. “We also keep a list of vacant properties that we keep an eye on.”

Neighbors also are keeping an eye on each other. Akre has seen an uptick in weed complaints, which are filed by residents who are concerned about unkempt properties in their neighborhood. As of May 17, 131 complaints have been received, compared to 76 in 2018.

The fires “impressed upon all of us that we need to do everything we can to be prepared,” Akre said.

Emily Charrier is the publisher of The Sonoma Index-Tribune and Petaluma Argus-Courier. She can be reached at Emily.charrier@sonomanews.com.