2-Acre Fire Near Cotati Destroys Chicken Barn

A smoker pot used in beekeeping started a 2-acre vegetation fire that destroyed a chicken barn used for storage near Cotati this afternoon, Cal Fire said.

The fire in the Hessel community in unincorporated Sonoma County west of Cotati was reported around 12:30 p.m. Fire fighters saved a residence valued at $500,000 that was threatened on Belmont Drive but the blaze destroyed the chicken barn.

The beekeeper was using dried grass to prepare a smoker pot that is used to calm bees, and a spark from the pot dropped on the ground and started the blaze, Cal Fire said.

Forty-five personnel from Cal Fire, and the Gold Ridge, Rincon Valley and Rancho Adobe fire protection districts responded to the fire.

• Also from today:
• Sun Sets Tuesday Night On Wragg Fire Flare-Up: PHOTOS
• Wragg Fire Flare-Up: 150 Acres On Tuesday Afternoon
• Smoke From Sebastopol Fire Drifts Over To Rohnert Park Area

--Bay City News