Fire destroys Paradise Ridge Winery, Fountaingrove Inn, Willi’s Wine Bar, other local landmarks

The firestorm that raged from Napa County into Sonoma County early Monday burned well-known businesses, schools and local landmarks, damaging or destroying at least 1,500 structures and leaving behind scorched commercial blocks.

The destruction included the Fountaingrove Inn, the luxury 124-room hotel, and the nearby historic Fountaingrove Round Barn, used for events including weddings.

The Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, a 250-room hotel, also was destroyed, as were the buildings at Paradise Ridge Winery.

Hidden Valley Satellite, a campus that serves about 80 primary-grade students, was leveled by flames. The school, located on the west side of Parker Hill Road north of Chanate Road, is near the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood that was ravaged in the early morning hours.

Sweet T's, the comfort-food eatery on Stagecoach Road off Fountaingrove Parkway was destroyed.

Down the hill to the west, Willi's Wine Bar and Cricklewood restaurant on Old Redwood Highway both burned down. The Cardinal Newman High School campus, farther north on Old Redwood Highway, lost approximately half of its classrooms, as well as the library, main office and a number of portable classrooms. The science building, wrestling room and gym still stand, according to Principal Graham Rutherford.

School will be closed for the remainder of the week for the approximately 620 Cardinal Newman students.

At Roseland Collegiate Prep, on the eastern side of Cardinal Newman, Roseland District Superintendent Amy Jones-Kerr said she has been unable to confirm reports of damage. She said district officials will work to move students into other Roseland campuses if the RCP buildings sustained too much damage.

The fire destroyed the east end and classrooms at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, but damage to the main theater building appeared minimal. Julie Richter, a spokesman for Luther Burbank Center, reported the center was closed Monday and its staff was safe.

Flames leaped over Highway 101 in the early morning hours, leaving little standing at the Kmart store on Cleveland Avenue. The remains of the 114,000-square-foot structure amounted to masonry walls and horizontal roof supports. At 7:45 a.m., flames continued to burn along a few exterior sections.

To the south on Cleveland, a firefighter sprayed water into the flames that had destroyed the Puerto Vallarta restaurant. The adjacent businesses appeared largely untouched.

In the Kohl's shopping center on Hopper, three eateries were reduced to burning rubble. They included McDonald's, Applebee's and Arby's.

The businesses were caught up in a path of destruction that continued west into residential neighborhoods along Hopper.