Fire on Sonoma mountain

Just after 1 p.m.|

Just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, during the hottest part of a hot day, several 911 calls came in reporting a fire near the summit of Sonoma Mountain, less than a mile from Jack London State Historic Park. The fire straddled the Rancho Adobe and Sonoma Valley Fire Districts, moving into the Sonoma district on the eastern side of the ridge.

Close to 20 units came from throughout Sonoma County, approaching the location from both the Petaluma side on Sonoma Mountain Road and from the Sonoma side near the Diamond A development.

“It was pretty much at the top of the hill,” said Bob Norrbom, division chief from Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue. He described the fire as being on the Alta Sonoma Ranch, where it burned primarily grasslands but no structures.

Aside from Rancho Adobe and Sonoma Valley, responding units included the Petaluma Fire Department, Wilmar Volunteer Fire Department, Schell-Vista Fire, Glen Ellen Fire and Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department.

Cal Fire aircraft from Santa Rosa also attacked the fire from the air, dropping fire retardant to quell the flames, and a helicopter came in from Lake County to address the fire at the 2,464-foot summit.

Ninety minutes after the first units arrived the fire was reported contained, according to a Cal Fire spokesperson, after burning a total of about 12 acres.

“We hit it pretty hard,” said Norrbom, calling it “the biggest fire we’ve had this year.”

He noted that with the Fourth of July weekend approaching, “We’re hoping it cools down and people behave themselves.”

He emphasized that fireworks are not permitted in either the City of Sonoma or throughout the non-incorporated Sonoma Valley, and since that prohibition went into effect the number of Independence Day-related fires has dropped.

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