Santa Rosa To Host Wildfire Documentary Screenings

SANTA ROSA, CA — The city of Santa Rosa announced it will host three screenings of a new documentary film that captures experiences during and following the Sonoma Complex Fires of 2017. The 50-minute film, "Last October," is from the perspective of several current and former city employees and officials who served as first responders, disaster service workers and community leaders.

The Sonoma Complex Fires broke out Sunday evening, Oct. 8, 2017, and tragically took 24 lives, destroyed more than 5,000 homes and caused an estimated 100,000 people to evacuate countywide. In the city of Santa Rosa, 3,043 homes were destroyed — around 5 percent of the city's housing stock. Sixty-two city of Santa Rosa employees lost their homes in the fires.

"The documentary was produced by the city to capture recollections of city staff from various departments, as well as council members who were in office at the time of the disaster," said Santa Rosa City Spokesperson Adriane Mertens.

These individuals recount both their professional and personal experiences, the critical participation of mutual aid agencies, and the overwhelming selfless support and heroism of the community during and following one of the most destructive wildfires in state history, Mertens said.

As it nears two years since the fire, Mayor Tom Schwedhelm said many locals are still deeply impacted.

"Our community has experienced so much trauma," Schwedhelm said. "Recognizing the efforts of public servants, residents, businesses and all of our neighbors from other jurisdictions who stepped up to help save our community is something we have to continue to do as we move forward in our healing and recovery. ... It can be helpful to talk about what we experienced."

The film provides a firsthand glimpse into the breadth of the city’s response and what it was like to work as a public servant during the fires, such as a recreation employee operating an emergency shelter, a city mechanic hearing of the loss of his own house while working to keep public safety vehicles in service, a CityBus worker transporting evacuees, police officers and firefighters on the front lines, and more. In many instances, employees reported to duty not yet knowing the fate of their own homes or of their families who were evacuated.

City Manager Sean McGlynn said it is important to preserve a historical record of the city's experience.

"This project was a chance to give our employees an opportunity to share their own experiences, and out of it, have a way to share those stories with our community and with other communities and agencies so that we may learn from each other," McGlynn said.

The public film screenings are free to attend and are scheduled as follows:

—At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 at Finley Recreation Complex, 2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa, "Last October" will be shown following a special art reception for the temporary exhibit, "Sonoma County Residents Reflect on the 2017 Northern California Wildfires," featuring art works of nearly 100 Sonoma County artists of all ages and experience levels. Members of the public may drop in during the hours of 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5 for the exhibit reception in the Person Senior Wing. The free film screening then begins at 6:30 p.m. in the adjacent Person Auditorium. The exhibit will remain on display through Oct. 10.

— At 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, a free screening of "Last October" will be held at Third Street Cinemas, 620 Third St. in Santa Rosa, in partnership with Santa Rosa Cinemas.

— At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 at City Hall Council Chambers, 100 Santa Rosa Ave. in Santa Rosa, a "Last October" screening will take place in conjunction with the art exhibit, "Sketching Fire Stories," which is on display at City Hall through Oct. 3. "Sketching Fire Stories" is a year-long project of watercolor sketches that tell compelling stories of destruction and recovery in the aftermath of the October 2017 wildfires. The sketches were done on location by Susan Cornelis, Carole Flaherty, and others.