Point Reyes Light - September 2, 1999
Wildfire burns 125 acres in Nicasio
A suspicious wildfire blazed through Nicasio Monday afternoon and burned well into the night, scorching 125 acres of grass and woodlands but sparing several nearby homes, barns, and buildings at its fringes.
The fire was reported at 1 p.m. burning to the east of Nicasio Valley Road, south of the Lucas Valley Road intersection. At least two residents nearby who saw and smelled smoke called it in.
On a windy day that churned up white caps on nearby Nicasio reservoir, the grass fire quickly raced east up the hill towards Lucas Valley and came within a few feet of several homes as firefighters from throughout the county raced to the scene.
Within minutes, county and volunteer firefighting crews attacked the blaze from the Lucas Valley and Nicasio Valley Road intersection, where about 10 homes and barns were in immediate danger, said county firefighter Bruce Schomaker.
"The wind definitely posed some problems for us," Schomaker said. "I'd definitely call it a high fire danger day."
Those closest to the fire quickly took their horses to safety and carried away precious belongings while warning Lucas Valley and Rancho Santa Margarita residents of the impending danger.
Disaster coordinator Amy Morse, who lives across the street from where the fire started and reported the blaze, got help from friends to get her six horses and three chickens to safety, and started calling neighbors on her phone tree.
"There was a period of 45 minutes when it was really scary," she said. "I never experienced a grassfire first-hand. It's scary how fast it can move."
The fire burned within a few feet of the Nicasio Valley Road home of John Kunst, who called 911 while he was home eating lunch. Kunst credited the quick response of firefighters and the precaution of cutting a firebreak for saving his house.
"The grass all around us had a crew-cut, so it was very defensible from the firefighters' viewpoint," he said. "We cut down on all the fuel. When there's nothing to burn, the fire just whips through."
Nicasio Valley Road resident Dick Sagebiel, who was evacuated by firefighters as the flames nipped at his house from three feet away, also had high praise for the emergency crews.
"They were incredible," Sagebiel said. "We saw them until dark and after dark up on that ridge. It's very comfortable to have them around. They laid more hose than I knew existed."
Overall, 145 firefighters responded to the blaze, including two California Department of Forestry helicopters that collected water from a local stock pond, four CDF air tankers, and a Marin Municipal Water District bulldozer.
Although firefighters continued to check on hotspots through Wednesday, the fire was pronounced under control by 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The cause is still under investigation, as is the possibility that it is related to a simultaneous grass fire that burned 600 square feet south near Moon Hill, Schomaker said.
Disaster coordinator Morse said residents will likely meet with firefighters this week to consider ways to improve their emergency response, including maybe setting up a central place to get information.
Most residents who left their homes or were prevented from driving on Nicasio Valley Road, which was closed by California Highway Patrol that afternoon, simply gathered at Rancho Nicasio, Morse said.
Finding a silver lining in the near-disaster, Kunst noted that wildfires won't be a danger to his house anymore this year, "and I understand it's going to be the greenest place in the valley next year," he said.