Fire broke out at a homeless encampment along the Joe Rodota Trail this morning
A worrisome sign that fire season is starting early
At 11:42 am, Gold Ridge Fire got a report of a fire in a wooded area just off the Joe Rodota Trail, about a quarter mile in from the Petaluma Avenue trailhead. Two engines from Gold Ridge Sebastopol and Twin Hills fire stations responded to the call.
The Sebastopol Police were actually the first on the scene. Sebastopol Police Sergeant Cameron Fenske was on patrol when he noticed a plume of smoke coming from an area near the trail.
“He went over there to check it out, and then he called it into dispatch, and we called the fire department,” said Sebastopol Police Lieutenant Andy Bauer, noting that the fire was “pretty significant” by the time Fenske arrived on the scene, and that “there was a pretty good plume of smoke coming up.”
According to a press release from the Sebastopol Police Department, “On-duty Sebastopol Police Department officers, the on-duty Sergeant, and the Chief of Police responded to the location…Officers immediately conducted a search of the surrounding area to ensure no individuals were actively involved, trapped, or otherwise at risk while awaiting the arrival of fire personnel.”
Happily, the winds that tore through Sonoma County over the last few days were nowhere in evidence. Along the trail, the air was hot and still as firefighters arrived, driving their trucks down the trail. The Police Department press release noted that Fire Chiefs Schroth-Cary and Dave Bray, along with a Fire Chief from Sonoma County Fire Department and a CAL FIRE Police Officer were part of the response.
Gold Ridge Fire Captain Michael Baldwin estimated that the fire burned an area about 50 feet by 50 feet.
“It’s an unhoused encampment back there,” Baldwin said, nodding to a wooded area accessed by a small trail. “It probably started from some kind of discarded cooking materials. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what it was, but there was some evidence of leftover cooking.”
By 1:15 pm, firefighters said the fire was out, and they were just mopping up.
Representatives from both the police and fire departments said no one was at the encampment when they arrived on the scene.
According to the police press release, “The location was subsequently investigated by officers on scene, who have initiated a case for further investigation and follow-up with a view to prosecution if the evidence supports it.”
Also a worrisome sign that we have repeated fires at the same location too frequently, year after year, sometimes multiple time in a year.
I live next to the trail. Unfortunately, it happens multiple times a year. Not to mention trash, needles and syringes, stolen shopping carts, constant fighting and yelling - which I guess at this point we sweep under the rug as ephemeral “quality of life” issues - these fires are actually dangerous.