Sonoma County enjoys clear skies, sunshine before rain returns Tuesday

After days cooped up inside due to the smoky air from a wildfire and then the rainfall, Sonoma County residents woke up to clear skies and sunshine Sunday.

“It’s finally nice out, no more coughing,” said 12-year-old Katie Cornelius, who spent hours Sunday bicycling around Santa Rosa with her dad.

Some residents took advantage of the dry weather, hanging up their outdoor Christmas decor. Others walked their dogs, played guitar on the sidewalk and did cartwheels on the grass. The temperatures reached highs in the upper 60s.

About 3 inches of rain fell last week in Santa Rosa, according to the National Weather Service.

Fire officials in Butte County also welcomed the wet weather, calling it a “relief” as they fully contained the Camp fire Sunday morning.

“Hopefully it’s signaling the end of a long fire season,” said Jennifer Erickson, spokeswoman for the Camp fire unified command.

The wildfire, the most destructive and deadliest in California’s history, left at least 85 people dead and hundreds more missing. It burned more than 153,000 acres and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes.

Smoke from the inferno drifted into the Bay Area when it erupted Nov. 8, forcing Sonoma County schools to close and activities to move indoors because of the poor air quality.

Millions were urged to remain indoors for nearly two weeks as smoke from the Camp fire and the Woolsey fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties besieged the state.

Tom Mierzwinski, 67, of Oakland, visited downtown Santa Rosa on Sunday to scope out the area before moving. He wore a respirator mask and stayed indoors as much as possible when smoke blanketed the Bay Area in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

“I can breath again,” he said. “It was so thick if you went outside. It was like smoking a cigarette.”

Ten-month-old Remy Cruz gleefully crawled across the lawn at Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square Sunday afternoon as his parents cheered him on.

“We hadn’t been out for two weeks. It was hard,” said his mother, Sarah Cruz.

His father, David Cruz, said being stuck inside stirred up some cabin fever. Remy thrives on fresh air and outdoor time, his parents said.

Coffey Park resident Heidi Schneider, 53, came close to losing her home in the Tubbs fire, which decimated homes just three doors down for her. The polluted skies this month reminded her of the trauma of last year’s destructive wildfire.

But on Sunday she sat outside of Peet’s Coffee in downtown Santa Rosa, talking to a friend. Although she was thankful for the rain, she was happy to bask in the sun’s warmth.

“I love it,” Schneider said. “We’re happy. It’s nice to see the sun.”

When the smoke cleared last week, she went for walks around her neighborhood, where construction workers busily rebuilt homes.

“It’s booming. It’s great to have families return,” she said.

The weather service forecast a one-two punch of rainfall to hit the Bay Area this week in a report published Sunday morning.

Light to moderate rain is first expected in the North Bay on Tuesday morning. A stronger storm system is set to douse the Bay Area from Wednesday through Thursday, possibly bringing isolated heavy downpours and gusty winds, the National Weather Service warned.

Weather models pointed toward a dry weekend with more storms arriving in early December.

Staff Writer Will Schmitt contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Susan Minichiello at 707-521-5216 or susan.minichiello@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @susanmini.