Brush Fire Near Santa Rosa, Sebastopol Contained

SANTA ROSA, CA — A vegetation fire that burned more than 3 acres Tuesday on a rural piece of property owned by the city of Santa Rosa was determined to be human-caused, the Santa Rosa Fire Department said.

The fire was reported at 3:49 p.m. by multiple callers who said they saw smoke in the area of the Joe Rodota Trail west of Llano Road and east of the Town of Sebastopol, SRFD Battalion Chief Matthew Gloeckner said.

The callers advised there was possibly a vegetation fire and units from multiple agencies, including the Graton Fire District, Sonoma County Fire District, Cal Fire, Gold Ridge Fire District and the Sebastopol Fire Department, were dispatched to the area, Gloeckner said.

The first arriving unit found smoke from a vegetation fire coming from a wooded area near the Laguna de Santa Rosa on the south side of Highway 12 and east of the Town of Sebastopol.

"Fire crews had difficulty accessing the fire," Gloeckner said. "Fire department units were able to locate the fire via an address and driveway located at 2200 Llano Road. Fire department units found a 2-acre grass and brush fire burning with a mild wind moving it in a northerly direction towards Highway 12 and the Joe Rodota Trail."

Additional crews were requested and firefighters surrounded the blaze with hose lay and extinguished it.

No structures were threatened by the blaze, Gloeckner said.

A Cal Fire bulldozer was used to put a control line around the fire, and it was fully contained at 3.2 by 5:04 p.m. Tuesday.

In addition to the dozer, a total of eight engine crews, two water tender crews, five chief officers, two fire investigators responded.

"Fire crews remained on scene for several more hours extinguishing hot spots," Gloeckner said. "The fire is currently under investigation by fire investigators but has been determined to be human-caused."