Healdsburg Fire Latest: Mandatory Evacuation Orders Lifted

HEALDSBURG, CA — A wildfire that prompted mandatory albeit brief evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon in East Healdsburg appeared to have been sparked by a property owner in the North Fitch Mountain Road area, according to a city fire official.

The resident was cutting metal pipes for the construction of gates and a fence for goats when the fire broke out at about 1:45 p.m., Healdsburg Fire Department Marshal and Division Chief Linda Collister told Bay City News Service.

It was a series of close calls amid a fluid situation as the city scrambled to notify residents. The city in a 1:49 p.m. Nixle alert said no evacuations were currently necessary. But as flames began spreading from the field to houses on a hilltop, city officials sent another Nixle alert at 2:06 p.m. ordering mandatory evacuations for residents of Sunset Drive, Valley View Drive and Benjamin Way.

Authorities also started going door-to-door to ensure all evacuees were notified.

Then, as firefighters from Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Geyserville, Cal Fire and Sonoma County halted the forward spread, city officials at 2:42 p.m. sent another Nixle alert notifying residents the mandatory evacuation orders were lifted.

Fortunately, the property owner had recently mowed his dry grass and created fire breaks, both of which helped firefighters quickly contain the fire, Collister told Bay City News Service.

The size of the wildfire acreage-wise was not clear, as Patch was not immediately able to reach the Healdsburg Fire Department.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story Tuesday said incorrectly the fire was in the area of South Fitch Mountain Road. The error was due to a mistake by city of Healdsburg officials. The fire was in the North Fitch Mountain Road area. The story now has the correct information.