Disputed vacation rental ‘a total loss’ after nighttime inferno

Eight guests at Diamond A property all safe|

A fire destroyed a three-story vacation home in Sonoma Valley’s Diamond A neighborhood early Sunday morning, displacing eight vacationers and sparking questions about a long-standing dispute between the property owners and the Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department, or PRMD.

The property, at 18932 View Crest Drive, suffered extensive damage, according to Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority Chief Steve Akre. He said neither the cause nor the point of origin has yet been determined, pending investigation.

Multiple calls came to Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue at about 1:31 a.m., including at least one from one of the vacationers staying at the house and from several neighbors as well.

The responding battalion chief, Bob Norrbom, said one of the vacationers was awakened by the glow of a fire outside the master bedroom, which fronts a deck. She woke everyone up and got them out of the house. No one was injured.

By the time Sonoma Valley Fire arrived, the blaze had been burning for some time and had spread to vegetation around the house, said Akre. “The home was heavily, heavily damaged by fire. In our estimation it was burning for a while before it was discovered. The fire had a big head start.”

A total of nine engines, two ambulances and two water tenders responded to the fire, and personnel from five additional fire districts – Bennet Valley, Glen Ellen, Petaluma, Kenwood and Schell-Vista – were involved in the response. Some of those districts covered for the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue personnel while they were responding to the fire, said Akre.

Firefighters were able to quickly stop the flames from spreading to surrounding areas and had the structure fire under control by 2:23 a.m., Akre said. “The home is absolutely a total loss,” he said.

While commending the fire crews, Akre noted the challenges to their efforts presented by a gated, long, narrow, uphill driveway leading from View Crest Drive to the building. “Anytime you’ve got long narrow uphill driveway, it does present more of a challenge. They don’t stop us from doing our job, but it doesn’t make things as easy for us,” he said.

“Thank god everyone got out, that was close,” said Kevin McCarthy, who owns the property with his husband David Bui. He made it a point to thank the fire department for their response and salvaging what they could of the property. “They were incredible,” he said.

There were no injuries among the eight adults who were vacationing in the home at the time of the fire. All were from out of town, some from as far away as Chicago. Their traveling possessions including ID were lost in the fire; they were assisted in getting home by the Red Cross, according to early reports.

But McCarthy, a retired superior court judge, disputed that account. He was in Maui when he was called about the blaze by a neighbor before the fire trucks had even arrived; Bui was in Roseville. Said McCarthy, “I immediately called my husband, who got out of bed at 1:30 in the morning, threw on his clothes, got in his car, and drove to Sonoma.”

Bui arrived to help the vacationers find clothing and other places to stay. “We took care of them completely,” said McCarthy. “We’re going to make sure they get reimbursed for everything, (and that) they’re taken care of.”

McCarthy and Bui both live in San Francisco, and did not know the people staying at the house. “They were vacationers,” said McCarthy. “We have it as a vacation rental.”

However there was some question over the permit status of the property. The property’s permit to operate as a vacation rental, for a maximum of eight people, had been denied by PRMD in May 2015, and the owners were cited in July of that year for a zoning violation as an unpermitted vacation rental, according to county records.

McCarthy and Bui, filed an appeal on their permit denial, on July 29, 2015. According to McCarthy, PRMD reversed their denial and allowed the vacation rental permit in September of that year – a decision that itself was appealed by a coalition of Diamond A neighbors.

That appeal is to be heard by the Board of Zoning Adjustments next month, at its June 15 meeting. But while the permit is under appeal, it is currently valid.

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.

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