SANTA VISITS PETALUMA » Festive CROSS-COUNTRY STATE CHAMPS »

crowd on hand to greet Saint Nick, Healdsburg, Sonoma Academy

Mrs. Claus along riverfront. A3 seniors earn titles in Fresno. C1

ALL ABOUT MARY’S » Cookbook

celebrates pizza shack’s matriarch,
her recipe for culinary success. D1

WINNER OF THE 2018 PULITZER PRIZE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM

TESTED BY DISASTER » LINGERING RAMIFICATIONS US steps

Faith playing key role up push
to block
for many fire survivors migrants
Trump administration in
talks with Mexico to keep
asylum-seekers at border
By AZAM AHMED
AND KIRK SEMPLE
NEW YORK TIMES

MEXICO CITY — Leaders of

the incoming Mexican govern-
ment are in talks with U.S. offi-
cials to allow migrants applying
for asylum in the United States
to remain in Mexico while they
await a decision — a drastic over-
haul of policy that President Don-
ald Trump suggested Saturday
night was as good as a done deal.
While Mexican officials said no
decision has been made, leaders
of the incoming government are
under immense
pressure to deal
with thousands
of migrants
lined up along
the border be-
tween the two
countries. The
top officials of
the incoming Andrés Manuel
Mexican ad- López Obrado
m i n i s t r a t i o n President-elect
plan to meet as of Mexico
early as today to
discuss the proposal, according
to the incoming foreign minister,
BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Marcelo Ebrard, who will take of-
FAITH REINFORCED: Kim van der Linden clasps her hands in prayer as she attends a Sunday service Nov. 18 with City Alliance Church members at the Steele Lane fice on Dec. 1.
Community Center in Santa Rosa. In the aftermath of last year’s wildfires, faith, in different forms, has played a vital role in helping survivors to rebuild their lives. A decision to allow the mi-
grants to stay inside Mexico while

Religious community finding beacon in belief after fires awaiting word from U.S. courts
would be a sharp reversal of the
policy, which allows asylum-seek-
By MARTIN ESPINOZA it wasn’t the right time. People were ers to remain in the United States
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT confused, in a state of shock. until their petition is resolved.

O
n a recent visit to an evacuation
center in Chico, Christian pastors
Jon Maves and Billy Andre saw
familiar despair in the eyes of those who
fled from the Camp fire’s deadly flames.
Maves and Andre, Santa Rosa resi-
Jon
dents who both lost homes in the Tubbs
Maves
wildfire in October 2017, resisted sharing
“For me, it was
their own stories. The destruction, the
a season of
loss, the grief in Butte County was so
anticipation and
monumental, all they could do was listen.
excitement. But
After a year of struggles that tested
the fire destroyed
their faith, the two religious men had
my life,” says the
Santa Rosa pastor. much to share and teach. But they knew
“I really just listened to people,” said
Andre, pastor at The Bridge church in
Santa Rosa, which also was destroyed by
the Tubbs fire.
“I felt like sometimes, the church can
be too quick to rush to hope, telling peo-
ple, ‘Hey, we’re all going to get through
this,’” he said. “Sometimes, we don’t al-
low people to simply grieve and mourn.”
For many faithful, cataclysmic events
like the Camp and Tubbs fires — the two
most destructive wildfires in California
history — often challenge their belief in
TURN TO FAITH » PAGE A14
REBUILD NORTH BAY
Many survivors found their faith
supported within the community
as they recover from the fires / H1
The Trump administration
has reviled this as a “catch and
release” policy that migrants
often abuse by skipping court
proceedings and vanishing in-
side the United States. The ad-
ministration, which has bitterly
complained that Congress has
not addressed the issue, has been
pressing the Mexican govern-
ment for months to help.
“Migrants at the Southern
Border will not be allowed into
the United States until their
TURN TO MIGRANTS » PAGE A15

Feds’ cash infusion may boost SR fire relief

HOUSING » $38.5M in
disaster funds could help
city to build apartments
By WILL SCHMITT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Santa Rosa expects to receive
$38.5 million in federal disaster
relief money so much-needed
apartments can be built in the
city, already mired in a housing
crisis aggravated by the devas-
tating 2017 wildfire.
The funds would come from
$124 million the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment set aside in April for sec-
tions of California where fires
last year destroyed thousands
of houses and apartments. State
housing and community devel-
opment officials have the task
of doling out the money when it
becomes available in February.
State housing and communi-
ty development officials have
included the housing money for
Santa Rosa in a draft plan. They
face a Dec. 18 deadline to finalize
how to allocate all of the federal
aid. More than 3,000 homes in
the city were destroyed in the
historic Tubbs fire in October
of last year, and at least an addi-
tional 2,300 homes were burned
across Sonoma County.
“This funding puts the Santa
Rosa community in very good
position for vital community
projects,” said Efren Carril-
lo, the director of government
and community relations for
Burbank Housing and a former
Sonoma County supervisor.
The nonprofit building com-
pany hopes to secure some
of the federeal disaster relief
funds for redevelopment of the
Journey’s End mobile home
park, which was gutted in the
Tubbs fire, and the Caritas Vil-
lage downtown housing project
proposed by Burbank and Cath-
olic Charities, Carrillo said.
The disaster relief money
wouldn’t solve the city’s hous-
ing affordability and supply
woes that began a decade ago BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
and significantly worsened after Homes that survived the Tubbs fire were uninhabited during the cleanup
in February at Journey’s End mobile home park in Santa Rosa. Burbank
TURN TO RELIEF » PAGE A2 Housing hopes to secure federal disaster relief funds to redevelop the site.

Business E1 Crossword T7 Lotto A2 Obituaries B4 GOVERNORS SAY DISASTERS A TOP PRIORITY: SANTA ROSA ©2018
Classified E5 Forum B11 Movies D6 Sonoma Life D1 After wildfires and hurricanes, handling High 66, Low 39 The Press
Democrat
Community B10 LeBaron T1 Nevius C1 Smith A3 emergencies is on state leaders’ minds / B1 THE WEATHER, C8

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A14 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018

“I feel less alone when God is in my life. ... It’s a way to open your heart to
the universe and feel like the universe is there for you as well.”
GEORGE GITTLEMAN, Sonoma County religious leader and rabbi at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa

BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

GATHERED IN PRAYER: Members of City Alliance Church gather around and place their hands on Micah and Jane Laremore to pray for the couple, who will be moving to Tyrone, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 18 during a
worship service held at the Steele Lane Community Center in Santa Rosa.

FAITH feeling it was “going to be God’s community, the benefits of com- his wife were drawn to the con-
provision for us.”
In a day’s time, Maves and
munity ... of having a traditional gregation’s progressive work in
structure to utilize and rely on social action. “What they were
a day, serving three daily meals
and offering some a place to
sleep and, for many others, a
CONTINUED FROM A1 his family saw the house and during challenging times.” doing spoke to me.” place to tell their stories.
met with the real estate agent Gittleman said many are now Their younger daughter and “It was just such a blessing
God. Some become angry or dis- to crunch some numbers. On “triggered and upset” by smoke her family, who lived on Fir Ridge — you didn’t feel alone, you just
illusioned and struggle to make a piece of paper, his young- coming from other communities Drive in Fountaingrove, also lost felt supported,” said Lesley Van
sense of the indiscriminate loss est daughter had drawn two north in Butte County expe- their home in the Tubbs fire. Fol- Dordrecht, who lost her home
of life and property. pictures. On one side, she drew riencing the ever-expanding lowing the fire, the area’s Jewish in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park
In the prolonged aftermath of a house on fire with the words, horrors of wildfire. community and many others pro- neighborhood where she and
last year’s wildfires that devas- “Worst Day Ever.” On the other “We’re not out of the woods,” vided an abundance of support. her husband, Mike, lived. “Espe-
tated Sonoma County, faith, in side, she drew a house that rep- he said. “We need to learn to Food came up from a Marin cially the church staff, it really
different forms, has played a key resented their new home. live reasonably healthily with a County synagogue, and Shomrei did feel like they were God’s
role in the rebuilding of the local The real estate agent took that new level of fear and anxiety — Torah’s social action committee representatives.”
community. Even as communi- picture to share with the owners that’s a spiritual and emotional launched a “meal train” that In a recent blog on the
ties across the state continue to of the home, who were expected challenge.” provided meals to fire survivors church’s website, Van Dordrecht
be leveled by similar and even to make a final decision on all of- He said the realization that several times a week, Carlin said. recounts those days after the
greater infernos in the case fers, and by “6:30 that night, our “God isn’t Santa Claus doesn’t “It actually felt like physical Tubbs fire: “Every time we
of the still-burning Camp fire, offer was approved,” Maves said. mean God is not there.” support,” he said. stopped by, it was like getting a
some who suffered great loss Now, they were faced with “What it requires one (to do) is The Carlins embrace the idea hug from God. We could charge
last year say their faith abides. the task of paying a mortgage to reimagine God in other ways,” of faith as community and the our phones, use the comput-
There may be days when it’s and repairing the house they he said. “For example, for me, I Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, er, printer, copier and fax, eat
stretched thin or it feels like it’s bought that had been neglected see God in the faces of other peo- acts that repair the world. Along lunch, have coffee, cry, laugh,
spent. But it’s still there, guiding for years. ple and our ability to respond to with programs promoting immi- receive hugs from volunteers
efforts to rebuild homes and “At that time, I really felt that the needs of the ‘Other.’” grant, gun control and LGBTQ and other evacuees, and general-
lives, no less important than faith rose up and I knew that if He said he sees God in the call rights, the Carlins and their social ly feel supported. Since we were
nails, wood and rebar. this was going to be God’s pro- to learn to live together, where action group also have focused on staying in Sebastopol, having a
“My faith has often waned, vision for us, that he was going the whole is greater than the climate change this year. place in Santa Rosa to do these
but that’s part of faith. It’s not to provide a way through it,” he sum of the parts. “One of the main precepts of things was critical.”
a moment that you decide that said. “I feel less alone when God is Judaism is acknowledging that Van Dordrecht said she and
it’s done. It’s something that you in my life,” he said. “I feel the the world is not perfect,” she her husband, both retired educa-
have to keep coming back to,” Reaffirming community ability to be connected and not said, “We’re here to try to do tors, have been Christians since
said Maves, the pastor at City For some Jewish people, ques- isolated. It’s a way to open your some repair work.” their teens and are well-versed
Alliance Church in Santa Rosa. tioning authority, including the heart to the universe and feel in theology and they long since
“Picture the ocean, it’s not just role God plays in the universe, is like the universe is there for you Rebuilding membership wrestled with “God’s will and
a wave, it’s waves. ... Sometimes, an important part of their faith. as well.” Last year’s fires were a big mysteries.”
the wave is really tangible. That’s true for some members Larry and Judy Carlin, mem- blow to First Presbyterian “I didn’t feel singled out,
Fire, that’s a wave. Sometimes, of the Congregation Shomrei bers of Congregation Shomrei Church on Pacific Avenue in because it was such a massive
the wave is you wake up in the Torah, a Reform synagogue in Torah, came to understand that Santa Rosa. Dale Flowers, the disaster,” she said. “We were a
morning and you don’t have any east Santa Rosa. after the Tubbs fire engulfed pastor, said 50 church families little bit in shock in the begin-
hope.” Rabbi George Gittleman, the their home in Santa Rosa’s and another 10 families with ning, but if I’m with my hus-
Just before the Tubbs fire Shomrei Torah religious leader, Fountaingrove neighborhood kids enrolled in Presbyterian band, I’m at home.”
struck Santa Rosa overnight said the 2017 fires “sorely tested” last year. Preschool lost homes. The
on Oct. 8, 2017, Maves was at his own faith, and wiped away Neither of them are “reli- church normally has about Profound surrender
a crossroads in his life. The any notion he had that “God is gious” and faith in God didn’t 600 members and “friends” who Billy Andre, the pastor at The
Wisconsin native, whose parents like Santa Claus,” granting peo- play a large role in the past attend regularly. Bridge church, said his faith
were missionaries with the ple what they need and want. It 13 months. “Our attendance is down a helped him through moments
Christian and Missionary Alli- was something he already knew Larry Carlin said he grew up little bit, but by and large it’s that overwhelmed last year. He
ance, had been living in Sonoma on an intellectual level but came with an orthodox Jewish grand- strong,” he said. “The health said he reached a “deeper place
County for about 15 years. After to understand more profoundly mother and attended Hebrew and vitality of the church is of surrender,” accepting that
“testing the waters” for about this past year. school. But at 16, he became an strong.” sometimes he wasn’t in control
two years, Maves was planning “While the fire was hard on atheist. For many who lost houses of his circumstances.
to devote his time and efforts on my faith in that sense, it was “We never belonged to a or were evacuated, the church “That led me to really have to
becoming a pastor around the very affirming of what it means congregation until we moved up became “home,” he said. trust and believe that God was
end of October a year ago. to be in community,” Gittleman here,” he said, adding that after During the fires, First Presby- going to take care of my family
“For me, it was a season of said. “We saw the blessings of speaking to Gittleman, he and terian remained open 24 hours and God was going to take care
anticipation and excitement,” of me,” he said.
he said. “But the fire destroyed He said he feels for those in
my life.” Butte County who are going
Maves had been renting a through similar and worse
home with his wife and three dealing with the life-changing
kids on Amanda Place in Coffey Camp fire. He recalls the despair
Park for 12 years. The young he saw among fire survivors at
family found themselves compet- a Walmart parking lot in Chico
ing against thousands of other only days after the Camp fire
families looking for a place to started on Nov. 8.
live, at the mercy of a county His heart still raw from his
rental market eager to take own fire-ravaging experience
advantage. Maves said it seemed last year, Andre opened it to
like there was always someone those who fled the flames that
willing to throw another $30,000 destroyed the town of Paradise.
or more on top of the asking “One person said, ‘I wanted to
price for a new house. Finding a put people on my shoulders and
rental home seemed just as hard. carry them,’ but he couldn’t,”
He said he started to feel a real Andre said.
“sense of homelessness” that “A lot of people are probably
began chipping away at his role angry with God and are asking
as a husband and father. With no why is this happening right
options to buy, he said he decid- now,” he said, adding that an-
ed to “go big or go home.” swers will come later.
“If renting was going to be a “Our role (in Chico) was to
miracle, why not ask for a home weep with those who were weep-
to own,” he said. ing and to mourn with those
In early November, Maves who were mourning,” he said.
said he and his family looked
at a fixer-upper near Franklin You can reach Staff Writer
Park. He said the house was in KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213
disrepair and had been neglect- FEELING CONNECTED THROUGH GOD: Larry and Judy Carlin, members of Congregation Shomrei Torah who lost their home or martin.espinoza@pressdemo-
ed for years, but the family had a to the Tubbs fire, now rent a home in Santa Rosa while they rebuild. The Carlins say they embrace the idea of faith as community. crat.com. On Twitter @renofish
 Rebuild
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 • SECTION H

NORTH BAY

Mike Baker, a pastor at Crosspoint Community Church,

and his family found an outpouring of support from
within the religious community after the 2017 fires.

CHRIS HARDY / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

FOCUS ON FAITH

T
he solace provided by faith of shelter and succor.
and the support offered by Faith is tested in such times. The
the North Bay’s religious suffering around us then, as now in
communities were of great Butte County, was unimaginable, the
comfort to many whose lives losses all-consuming. But kindness —
were transformed by last year’s fires. the thoughts and deeds we aim outward
Houses of worship became philan- — is a redeeming force with unlimited
thropic hubs, and bonds between fellow potential. That lesson from the fires can
believers opened up countless sources make believers out of us all.

INSIDE

HOUSING, UTILITY PROGRESS
IN MARK WEST SPRINGS
Sonoma County officials expedite
apartment complex project while
PG&E completes trenching work.
Page H7
HOUSES RISE ON HARD-HIT
STREET IN SONOMA VALLEY
Some property owners embrace
modular homebuilding, which
has potential for granny units.
Page H9
FAITH IN HIGHER POWER
IN WILDFIRE’S AFTERMATH
Families say resounding support
in church community bolstered
their belief amid series of crises.
Page H13
SANTA ROSA CATHOLICS
BECOME OUTREACH FORCE
St. Rose transforms into hub for
wildfire relief work and plans
expansion to aid Butte County.
Page H21

PARTICIPATING SPONSORS
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H3

COFFEY PARK IN SANTA ROSA »

Residents celebrate start of demolition to rebuild barrier burned during
Tubbs fire by early next year; contractor hired to clear community park

Wall breakthrough
for neighborhood

PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore uses a sledgehammer to break apart a fire-damaged wall along Hopper Avenue on Nov. 8 during the groundbreaking ceremony in the Coffey Park
neighborhood of Santa Rosa. Construction for the new walls, which will use a steel-truss and foam system, is expected to be completed early next year.

C
By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

offey Park celebrated a

new milestone in No-
vember: the “breaking”
of the burned walls
along Hopper Avenue.
About 3,000 feet worth of
concrete walls are expected to
come down soon, the result of a
combined effort of neighbors, a
nonprofit and a Florida debris
removal company. New walls will
rise in the northwest Santa Rosa
neighborhood thanks to a $450,000
cash contribution by AshBritt
Environmental, which played a
major role in debris removal after
the October 2017 wildfires.
The walls on either side of Hop-
per had defied an easy solution
because they legally belong to the
42 property owners on whose land
the burned barriers sit.
After the fires, those neighbors were sur-
prised to learn they owned the walls. They
quickly said it would be too costly for them
to remove and replace them.
In stepped the Coffey Strong neighbor-
hood group, which partnered with Rebuild
NorthBay to seek an answer. The nonprofit
foundation was founded by Darius Ander-
son, managing member of Sonoma Media
Investments, which owns The Press Demo-
crat.
When AshBritt asked how it could help
recovery efforts, the wall project soon came
to the company’s attention.
This month leaders from the different
groups came together in Coffey Park. Many
took gold sledgehammers and pounded on
the wall as the first step toward its removal.
“We’re grateful to be here and to be part
of a project that we anticipate will be a long-
term symbol of the resilience and recovery
in this community,” AshBritt CEO Brittany
Perkins Castillo told the gathering.
Demolition is expected to begin late this
month. Two contractors, Wolff Contracting
A crowd gathers at Crestview Drive and Hopper Avenue on Nov. 8 for the groundbreaking for the
construction of a new wall, which will replace the one that was damaged during the Tubbs fire.
of Santa Rosa and Mountain G Engineering
of Folsom, will knock the structures down
and haul the rubble away at no charge.
The new walls will be 8 feet tall and built
from a steel-truss and foam system that
is covered with concrete. Construction is
expected to be completed in early 2019.
Here is a recap of other Coffey Park news
from November:
A new neighborhood park
A contractor has been hired to clear the
neighborhood park, and residents are invit-
ed to a public meeting next month to give
ideas for a new design of the 5-acre site.
Santa Rosa’s City Council this month
awarded a $164,160 contract to Team Ghilotti
of Petaluma to remove fire-damaged play-
ground equipment, picnic tables and other
debris from the park. The project is part of
nearly $207,000 worth of work to clean the
park and make its renovation possible.
City staff members estimated Santa Rosa
will receive about $194,000 in state and feder-
al disaster aid for the park project.
Moving forward, city parks officials will
host a neighborhood meeting about the park
at 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Finley Community
Center, Person Senior Wing, Room 5.
The park’s design team will share earlier
ideas and present images of possible park
designs. The public also will have a chance
to offer additional ideas.
Soil tests at the park were free of toxic
materials, said deputy parks director Jen
Santos.
City parks that were damaged in the fire
could receive an influx of funding from
Measure M, the countywide tax measure
for parks, Santos said. The measure was
approved by voters this month.
Progress with homebuilding
Coffey Park continues to serve as a center
of the rebuild in Sonoma County.
November is ending with 550 homes under
construction, according to city records.
Another 191 permits have been issued to
property owners, and 126 applications are
under review.
Forty-eight homes have been completed in
the neighborhood.
In all, property owners have at least
started the permit process to rebuild
nearly 70 percent of the 1,321 single-family
homes that burned in the northwest Santa
TURN TO COFFEY PARK » PAGE H6

“We’re grateful to be here and to be part of a project

that we anticipate will be a long-term symbol of the resilience
and recovery in this community.”
BRITTANY PERKINS CASTILLO, CEO of AshBritt Environmental, which has assisted with debris removal after the Tubbs fire
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H5

FOUNTAINGROVE IN SANTA ROSA »

More than 200 home sites under construction while 237-unit condo project,
years in making, nears final approval; new fire station still in need of work

KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A new home rises Nov. 15 on Fairway Knoll Court in Santa Rosa’s Fountaingrove neighborhood. The pace of construction has been slow but steady, and more proposals are seeking permits

Making slow but

for custom-built homes that often take longer to complete and require more attention from city planners.

steady headway
T
By WILL SCHMITT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

he rebuilding of Foun-
taingrove has continued
at a slow but stable pace
over the past month, with
five homes finished and 222 under
construction as of mid-November,
according to Santa Rosa figures.
The number of new projects
begun in that period added up to
perhaps the most encouraging
sign: It equated to more than one
home per day (42 overall), with
an additional 435 applications for
permits submitted to the city for
rebuilds in Fountaingrove, where
nearly 1,600 homes were lost to
the Tubbs fire.
“It is taking a little bit longer” JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

than other areas of the city, said

Smoke from the
David Guhin, director of Santa Ro- Camp fire, above,
sa’s Planning & Economic Devel- reduced visibility
opment Department. “But there is from the top of
Fountaingrove
definitely some movement.” across to
In Coffey Park, for comparison, 48 homes the Keysight
have been finished and 550 were under con- Technologies
struction by Nov. 14. campus on
A greater share of those homes were Nov. 12.
following pre-approved designs put forward
by large developers, Guhin said. At left, work on the
In Fountaingrove, more proposals are for temporary station
custom-built homes, which take longer and to replace Santa
require more attention from city planners. Rosa Fire Depart-
Bruce McConnell, vice president of the ment Station 5
Fountaingrove II Open Space Maintenance in Fountaingrove,
Association, which is overseeing cleanup visible from above
efforts in parts of the neighborhood, said on Sept. 24, is
progress over the past month made him expected to be
optimistic about the region’s future. completed by
Pressure on the construction industry, in- December.
cluding an ongoing shortage of skilled labor, KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
was cause for worry, he said.
But “it’s starting to look encouraging The Round Barn Village project would oc- final approval of the project in mid-November
right now,” he said. cupy 40 vacant acres within the loop formed and ordered developers to address some aes-
by Round Barn Boulevard and Fountain- thetic concerns with the planned townhouses.
grove Parkway. The step came nearly four years after City
Condo project one step closer City Ventures, a San Francisco-based de- Ventures began talks with the city about the
A 237-unit Fountaingrove townhouse veloper, plans to build all-electric townhous- project. Given a go-ahead, developers have
project working its way through Santa es with rooftop solar panels in a “progres- estimated construction would take two years
Rosa’s planning process would be the largest sive farmhouse style,” according to plans to complete.
single development envisioned for any of the filed with the city.
county’s burn zones. The city’s Design Review Board withheld TURN TO FOUNTAINGROVE » PAGE H6

“It’s starting to look encouraging right now.”

BRUCE McCONNELL, vice president of the Fountaingrove II Open Space Maintenance Association, which is overseeing the cleanup in parts of Fountaingrove
H6
Workers from Comet construction place plywood on a new home Nov. 8 in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa. Smoke from the
Camp fire in Butte County had created poor air quality conditions throughout the Bay Area.
COFFEY PARK
CONTINUED FROM H3
Rosa neighborhood.
For the entire county, about 4 in 10
property owners have moved forward
on a similar track.
Coffey Park teacher honored
At the first-year anniversary of the
North Bay wildfires, Schaefer Ele-
mentary School teacher Megan Furze
helped bring a motivational speaker to
her campus.
The speaker, whose given name is
Mister Brown, addressed both students
during school assemblies and parents
one night.
For the adults, Brown shared “how
important it was for parents to unplug
and have some fun with their kids,”
said Schaefer Principal Kathy Harris.
For children, Harris said his mes-
sage was summed up in three state-
ments: “I choose to do my best and
never give up. I am responsible for me.
When you make better choices, you
live a better life.”
The message has stuck with Schae-
fer students. When issues since have
arisen, Harris noted, “I’ve said to many
First-grade teacher Megan Furze, who talks Jan. 9 with students in her class at Schaefer
Elementary School in Santa Rosa, was presented with the Heart of Excellence Award for
her efforts to motivate schoolchildren and their parents after the North Bay wildfires.
kids, ‘Did you choose well?’ And they
know exactly what I’m talking about.”
To arrange the talks, Furze did fund-
raising, including from nearby church
groups, Harris said.
For her efforts, Furze was honored
this month by the Piner-Olivet school
board. And the district’s Educators
We are.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Association presented the first-grade
teacher with its Heart of Excellence
Award.
You can reach Staff Writer Robert
Digitale at 707-521-5285 or robert.
digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On
Twitter @rdigit.
FOUNTAINGROVE
CONTINUED FROM H5
New fire station still needs work
Work on a temporary fire station to re-
place Station 5, the new $4 million facility
destroyed in the Tubbs fire, is nearing
completion on Parker Hill Road. The site
held the neighborhood’s old, vacant fire
station, which also was claimed in the
blaze.
The $1 million temporary facility likely
won’t be completed until December, ac-
cording to Adriane Mertens, a city spokes-
woman. An opening date has not been set.
After the building work is done, the
city will still have to do its part to trans-
form the structure into a fire headquar-
ters, said Assistant Fire Marshal Paul
Lowenthal. That means bringing in com-
puters and office equipment, and beds for
the three firefighters stationed there to
serve Fountaingrove and Hidden Valley.
Surrounding stations currently cover
the area, with longer response times
to reach calls, Lowenthal said. When
engines get pulled away from their home
stations to respond to calls, the absence
of a functioning Fountaingrove station
affects other parts of Santa Rosa, he said.
The city plans to build a permanent
replacement fire station eventually,
Lowenthal said. But even the opening of
a temporary firehouse marks a milestone
for the scarred neighborhood, he said.
“Even though it’s reduced, it’s still
there,” he said.
Tests show clean water
Two rounds of tests in a portion of
Fountaingrove have shown no water
contamination since a drinking water
advisory was lifted Oct. 11, according to
the city. The results represent another
mark of progress after the city last year
detected that benzene, a cancer-causing
chemical, had leached into the water sys-
tem from melted plastic pipes in the area.
Ben Horenstein, the city water direc-
tor, told the City Council recently that
staff continued to test water at dozens
of Fountaingrove sites and were pleased
with the results so far.
“One hundred percent of the data
has come back nondetect,” Horenstein
said. “And that really is giving us great
confidence that the plan we put into place
was successful and this issue is largely
behind us.”
The city plans to continue testing the
water for several months.
It has spent about $8 million to deal
with the tainted water problem, includ-
ing targeted replacement of infrastruc-
ture and testing.
Horenstein said that “indications are
promising that we will get reimburse-
ment through FEMA.”
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H7

LARKFIELD-WIKIUP AND MARK WEST SPRINGS »

Apartment complex with affordable units touted as constructive ‘partnership’
for housing; PG&E finishes replacing fire-damaged utilities underground

PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A crew works on the roof of a house under construction Nov. 15 in the Larkfield area of Mark West Springs and Wikiup. According to data from Sonoma County, 17 homes have been

‘The epitome of
completed in the greater Mark West Springs area and more than 340 homes are under construction in the region.

rebuilding better’
M
By HANNAH BEAUSANG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

ore than a year

after the Tubbs
fire destroyed the
Estancia Apartments
and displaced more than
100 longtime residents, work is
underway to rebuild the Larkfield-
Wikiup development, the largest
multifamily housing complex in
unincorporated Sonoma County
lost to the firestorm.
The 5.5-acre Old Redwood
Highway development, which
originally featured 70 market-rate
apartments, is being rebuilt as a
96-unit complex slated to include
six affordable units, property
owner Brandon Broll said. Apart- A crew paves over gas and electric utilities that were replaced and buried in underground trenches by
PG&E on Nov. 15 in the Pacific Heights neighborhood in Larkfield.
ments could be move-in ready by
late 2019, he said.
Sonoma County officials
touted the project, expedited
through the approval process, as
a collaborative effort that led to a
greater number of housing units
and below market-rate rentals.
Broll is a Truckee resident who
owns Broll Investments, which
acquires and revamps apartment
complexes. He said it’s the first
multifamily development he’s
built from the ground up.
“I was hearing all these firsthand stories
and really emotional stories of people who
lost everything, and I was going ‘How can
I help?’ … I knew one thing I could do was BRANDON BROLL
move very fast and try to get as many units in A rendering depicts the Sonoma Ranch Apartment Homes project in Larkfield-Wikiup, which will
there while still making it aesthetically pleas- include about 40 one-bedroom units, 48 two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units.
ing,” said Broll, who bought the property in
2012. “It feels good to be able to contribute.” and referrals, a county spokeswoman said. better for energy, it’s better for groundwater,
Renamed the Sonoma Ranch Apartment Permit Sonoma Director Tennis Wick said it’s got more units, so it’s better for housing,
Homes, the project will include an estimated a permit process that could normally could and for the first time, it has set-aside units
40 one-bedroom units, 48 two-bedroom units have taken months was reduced to weeks. for affordable housing. This is the epitome
and eight three-bedroom units, ranging from Without an affordable housing component, of rebuilding better.”
720 to 1,293 square feet, Broll said. Monthly design review could have at least a year but
rents could span from $2,000 to $3,000, with was cut to less than four months, spokes-
affordable units renting for about $900 to woman Maggie Fleming said. Rebuild marks progress
$1,000. Broll previously accepted more than “These are longtime tenants who lost Meanwhile, 17 homes have been complet-
a dozen housing vouchers, and he plans to their homes … hopefully, they can move ed in the greater Mark West area, extending
accept those Section 8 vouchers on at least back into even better homes than they had east to Knights Valley, according to county
six of the new units, he said. before,” Wick said. “And the community data. More than 340 homes are under con-
The complex will have new perks — sound- gets multifamily homes, which it needs.” struction in the region, about three quarters
proofing, EV chargers and energy-efficient Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore of the houses being built in the unincorpo-
roofing and windows, he said. Sonoma Coun- said Broll connected with the county soon rated county.
ty officials worked closely with Broll on the after the fires, and the project illustrates a Fairfield-based Silvermark Construction
project, assisting with a transition from sep- constructive “partnership” between a local Services, which in June celebrated the com-
tic to sewer service, changing zoning to allow government and a developer. pletion of the first rebuilt home on Willow
for a larger number of units in exchange for “Here we have example of something
affordable housing and expediting permits that’s coming back better,” Gore said. “It’s TURN TO LARKFIELD » PAGE H10
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H9

SONOMA VALLEY »
First home to be rebuilt in region expected to be completed soon;
residents express optimism that they can see ‘light at the end of the tunnel’

ROBBI PENGELLY / SONOMA INDEX-TRIBUNE

Homes going up
Len and Byron Hancock-Handeland of Sonoma are building a modular home as a replacement for their Glen Ellen rental that burned in last year’s Nuns fire.

on hard-hit street
F
By JANIS MARA items in short supply with contractors
SONOMA INDEX-TRIBUNE stretched thin across hundreds of projects
in Sonoma County.
ewer rebuilding projects began over the past month than No figures exist to say how many of those
in previous months in Kenwood and Glen Ellen, the Sono- homeowners are proceeding with modular
designs.
ma Valley communities hit hardest by the October wild-
fires, but an important milestone is nearing for the valley.
The first home to be rebuilt in the region will soon be completed.
Modular homes going up
Permit Sonoma, the county agency
“They are painting the house today,” Rick Cameron said in overseeing construction outside city limits,
mid-November, recounting the progress on his O’Donnell Lane lumps in such homes with secondary
home. “Appliances are on order. Cabinets are being made.” dwelling units, sometimes known as granny
units.
His is one of six homes taking shape on a hard-hit street in Glen Three such units were under construction
Ellen, where 237 homes were destroyed in the fires. Only 29 are and six applications to build such units have
been submitted in Glen Ellen. In Kenwood,
currently being rebuilt, and Cameron’s project, begun in June, is six of the units were under construction,
the first set for completion. with nine applications received.
Marjorie Everidge’s home on O’Donnell
“We are looking forward to it,” he said. has hampered some projects. Lane home burned in the wildfires, and
Barring unforeseen setbacks, the family ex- Obstacles common throughout the county she is replacing it with two manufactured
pects to move into the three-bedroom house include the scarcity of contractors and ma- homes. She and her partner, Archie Horton,
in January. terials, insurance disputes and soaring costs will live in one of the homes and her friend
“Finally, we see light at the end of the for homeowners looking to make a go of it. Carole Jackson will live in the other.
tunnel,” Cameron said. “Costs. It’s costs,” said Supervisor Susan Len and Byron Hancock-Handeland of
In Kenwood, where 139 homes were lost Gorin, who represents the valley. She and Sonoma also are building a modular home
and about 30 rebuilds are underway, only her husband lost their Oakmont home in the from Vallejo-based Blu Homes. It will re-
one project was started in the four-week Nuns fire. They have been renting another place their Glen Ellen rental that burned in
period since Nov. 13. In Glen Ellen, two new Oakmont home while sizing up whether or the wildfire.
rebuilds were started. not to rebuild. “We truly believe this is the wave of the
“The amount people are getting from their future,” said Len Hancock-Handeland. “Less
insurance companies far too often is not cov- time in construction, highly fire-retardant
Hillside rebuilding slowing down ering the costs, especially with the increase materials.”
Progress has been slow in other valley in building costs and the scarcity of labor,” “The outside of the house is concrete
communities, as well. Of the 104 homes de- she said. siding that is fire-retardant, and is the same
stroyed in Bennett Valley and the surround- Gorin said one cost-saving option some kind of concrete siding that our next-door
ing ridgetop neighborhoods, only 21 rebuilds fire survivors are exploring is modular neighbor’s house has that did not burn,”
are underway, according to county records. homes, pre-fabricated at the factory and Byron said.
In the outskirts of Sonoma, reconstruction designed to comply with local codes. The couple celebrated with friends Nov. 5
is happening on four of the 38 residential Such modular homes are “completely when their home was set into the foun-
properties that were burned over. different from those of yesterday, and they dation. As the group toasted with Bare-
Overall, that amounts to about 90 projects must be done under state regulations,” foot Champagne, the operator of a black
in progress in the valley, where the govern- Gorin said. crane carefully lifted the first 12-foot-long,
ment cleanup came after many other burn Modular homes cost around $110 a square 30,000-pound modular unit from the flatbed
zones in the county. foot to build, about a third to a sixth the truck, then slowly lowered it down. The
“The problem with Glen Ellen was that we price range that is now common for tradi- onlookers offered their applause.
were one of the very last in the area to get tional stick-built homes, according to cost “We’d like to encourage people rebuilding
our properties cleaned up,” said Cameron, estimates provided by the National Associa- after the fire to consider modular homes,”
referring to the debris cleanup overseen by tion of Realtors and local contractor Bryan Len Hancock-Handeland said. “When people
the Army Corps of Engineers. Lowney of New Creation Construction. think of modular homes, they think of
Also, it’s easier and less expensive to build Two major factors: Modular rebuilds something cheap. But these homes look like
on flat land, so the area’s hilly topography require far less labor and materials — two they have been produced by an architect.”

“When people think of modular homes, they think

of something cheap. But these homes look like they
have been produced by an architect.”
LEN HANCOCK-HANDELAND, Sonoma resident who is replacing his Glen Ellen rental with a modular house from Vallejo-based Blu Homes
H10 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018

A LOOK AT THE REBUILD EFFORT IN SONOMA COUNTY

Stay and rebuild, or sell and leave? It is the big question facing thousands of Sonoma County fire
survivors. The first wave of rebuilding accounts for more than a third of the homes lost in the
county in October 2017. A number of lots have changed hands or been put up for sale.

The big picture on reconstruction in October

70
1,221 Homes
Homes under rebuilt
construction

467
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Permits
A crew smooths asphalt over entrenched electric and gas utilities for PG&E in the Pacific issued
Heights neighborhood in the Larkfield area on Nov. 15.
5,334
Total
homes lost
LARKFIELD
CONTINUED FROM H7
Green Place, has finished nine homes
in the area, said Vice President of
Operations David Hosking. It’s in the
process of building 41 homes, he said, 363 3,213
the majority rebuild projects for fire Permits Homes not in
victims, with some for-sale lots. pending permit process
“We have to give kudos to city and Homebuilding materials are stacked Nov. 15
county building officials. Normally in the Larkfield area of Mark West Springs.
in that area it would take a year for
permitting and they’re working hard months or before Christmas … It’s a Property lots in burn zones listed for sale from Nov. 1, 2017, to Oct. 31
to make sure if we have everything in good feeling; there’s a lot of progress.”
LOTS LISTED LOTS SOLD MEDIAN PRICE IN OCTOBER
order we get permits within weeks, and
that’s unheard of for Santa Rosa,” said
founder and CEO Gregory Owen.
Orange County-based Stonefield
Completed utility work
PG&E has finished replacing un-
710 397 $261,500
Development, which has set up an office derground electric and gas utilities
in Larkfield Center and is undertaking destroyed in the fire in the Larkfield
group rebuilds, has poured more than and Mark West Estates neighborhoods
70 foundations for the 78 homes it’s about two months ahead of schedule, Homes lost in the October 2017 wildfires, by neighborhood*
rebuilding in Mark West Estates, spokes- a spokeswoman said. Work to dig four Coffey Park, Fountaingrove, Larkfield and Mark West Springs include surrounding areas.
woman Debbie Dorsee said. Framing is miles of trenches and place about
underway on almost 50 of those, with seven miles of electrical lines began in 2,000
the estimated move in dates set for early May and wrapped up on Oct. 31, PG&E
2019, she said. In Larkfield Estates, 16 spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said
homes are being built and could be ready “It’s a huge milestone, not just for 1,500 1,729
for occupancy this spring, she said. the neighborhoods, but for rebuilding 1,586 *28 homes in outlying or
1,473 unidentified areas excluded
The activity is encouraging for Brad in general,” she said. from neighborhood counts
Sherwood, who is tracking the rebuild PG&E contract crews are repaving ar- 1,000
of his family’s Larkfield Estates home, eas of the street impacted by trenching,
a project that could be wrapped up by work that’s excepted to be completed by
June. the end of the year, Contreras said. The 500
“I’m standing on my own newly utility also is hoping to restore impact- 518
poured foundation, and I’m looking ed driveways, curbs and gutters in the
around and there are sticks up every- area by year’s end, she said. 0
where,” he said. “At least 50 percent COFFEY PARK FOUNTAINGROVE LARKFIELD SONOMA
of the neighborhood is in a state of re- You can reach Staff Writer Hannah AND MARK WEST AND BENNETT
build … neighbors have already moved Beausang at 707-521-5214 or hannah. SPRINGS VALLEYS
into their homes and we’ve got people beausang@pressdemocrat.com. On
starting to move in the next couple Twitter @hannahbeausang. Sources: County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, Pacific Union International THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

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Happy Thanksgiving!
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018
Dick Crawford of Livermore looks for the correct pipe fitting in a home destroyed by the Valley fire in Middletown. Volunteers with the faith-based nonprofit Hope Crisis Response
Putting faith into
Network are rebuilding homes destroyed by the Valley and Tubbs fires using a mostly volunteer labor force drawn from churches nationwide.
action serving others
Hope Crisis Response Network volunteers devoting time, energy to fire recovery efforts
By ANDREW BEALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
S
teve Elliott travels a lot more than the aver-
age American, but not for vacation. His faith
that calls him to do it.
Over the past 13 months, Elliott has visited
Lake County, south Texas, Baton Rouge, Loui-
siana, and Puerto Rico with a singular purpose:
to volunteer in communities struck by natural
disasters.
Elliott came with the Tri-Valley Methodist
Churches, based in the East Bay. Unlike some
church-based relief groups, the Methodists do
not proselytize, and Elliott says it’s important
in his faith to do things simply for the benefit of
other people.
“We do it to serve others,” Elliott said. “This is
all really about putting our faith into action. If all
you do is talk about your faith and you don’t do
something with it, it’s not complete.”
This month, Elliott is in Middletown, volun-
teering for the Hope Crisis Response Network,
a faith-based nonprofit headquartered in Lake
County that is rebuilding homes destroyed in the
2015 Valley fire using a mostly volunteer labor
force drawn from churches nationwide.
Volunteers arrive on Sundays, then work Mon-
day through Friday. The next week, another group
comes in to pick up where the last group left off,
with help from a few full-time paid employees.
Hope Crisis Response Network provides
dormitory-style housing and meals for all
volunteers. The group aims to have 25 to
30 volunteers at a time, but numbers vary from
week to week and the dorms can house up to 60.
So far the group has completed 19 homes in Lake
County, and three more are under construction.
It is now turning its sights to Sonoma County,
where the October 2017 firestorm destroyed more
than 5,300 homes. Earlier this year, the group
organized the Inspiring Hope Shed Build, where
volunteers in Santa Rosa built 100 toolsheds that
are being used to store construction materials for
houses while they are rebuilt.
It has approved two clients in Sonoma County
who lost their homes in the 2017 wildfires and
will rebuild their houses once the permitting
process is complete.
Founded a little more than 20 years ago in
Indiana by Sonoma County native Kevin Cox
and his wife, Valerie, the Hope Crisis Response
Network and its related organization, Hope City,
have worked on large-scale relief after disasters
including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and
Hurricane Katrina. Now, they’re focused exclu-
sively on long-term efforts for people who lost
their homes in the series of wildfires that have
devastated Northern California over the past
three years. The group plans to build around 80
houses in the area.
Faith inspired Kevin Cox to found the group
20 years ago — faith, and a frightening incident
that made him realize how important it was to
serve his community.
Cox and his wife, Valerie, were working in the
restaurant and catering business when a man
they knew from a local theater suffered a mental
crisis in what Cox described as “a situation that
could have gotten really deadly.”
“The Lord just took care of it. It was a very
peaceful situation that the Lord just resolved,”
Cox said. “And out of that, I just felt why are we
spending so much time in this business … when
there’s so much anguish around us?”
Cox built the organization over the years as he
and Valerie traveled around the country responding
Volunteers with the Hope Crisis Response Network are rebuilding homes lost in the Valley fire in Middletown.
to disasters and gaining expertise in relief and re-
construction efforts. Neither of them draws a salary
from the organization, instead relying on Valerie’s
income from a grant from North Coast Opportuni-
ties that allows her to work at Hope City and as a
case manager with North Coast Opportunities.
“I think our greatest success is always handing
the keys over to a homeowner and giving them
the opportunity to move in to a rebuilt home,”
Valerie Cox said. “It is definitely the high point of
what we do, and provides us with great joy.”
“It’s a nice little house. We don’t build big, we
don’t build fancy, but we do build good,” Kevin
Cox said.
Sal and Maria Pimentel agree. They live in a
three-bedroom home that Hope Crisis Response
Network completed construction on earlier this
year.
“This house is much nicer than the one that
burned,” Maria said in her native Spanish (she
came to Middletown from Michoacán, Mexico,
in 1998 to join husband Sal, who had traveled
between Lake County and Michoacán since 1977).
“It’s got everything! Three bedrooms, two bath-
rooms, a kitchen. … I don’t have words to thank
them for everything they’ve done for us, and I’m
very, very happy.”
The group builds its houses to two different
specifications: the three-bedroom model it built
for Sal and Maria and a two-bedroom, 1½-bath
version for individuals and smaller families. A
house it is currently building for Middletown res-
ident Mickey Thibodeau is a modified version to
conform to ADA standards. Thibodeau suffered
a stroke a few months after he lost his home,
and is now uses a wheelchair. Though initially
frustrated by an inability to obtain further modi-
fications to the floorplan, Thibodeau said now he
feels very thankful for the rebuilding assistance
offered by the Hope Crisis Response Network.
“I finally decided whatever they’re doing is
fine, I can live with that … and I sure appreciate
what they’re doing,” he said.
The group is a registered 501(c)3, and all its
money comes from donations. Property owners
do not pay a fee for the labor provided, though
they must use any money they have designated
for rebuilding (such as insurance or FEMA fund-
H11
PHOTOS BY JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ing) toward the cost of materials. All of the Hope
Crisis Response Network’s money is raised from
foundations, churches and private individuals.
According to public filings, the group received
nearly $2 million in contributions and grants in
2017, a sharp increase from the roughly $450,000
it received in 2016, itself a major jump from the
$40,000 it received in 2014.
Local and national businesses ranging from
Wells Fargo to Santa Rosa’s Pride Mountain Vine-
yards have contributed money or in-kind dona-
tions to the organization, and local and national
church groups have helped out as well. (The
Press Democrat is a partner in the North Bay Fire
Relief Fund, which awarded grants to the Hope
Crisis Response Network for home rebuilding and
this summer’s Inspiring Hope Shed Build.)
Property owners in Sonoma County who wish
to receive assistance from the group must first go
through case management at Rebuilding Our Com-
munity Sonoma County. The group offers relief to
people who were uninsured or underinsured, and
prospective clients must meet certain criteria, such
as not having any liens on their property. There are
no religious criteria to apply for assistance from
Hope Crisis Relief Network, and Valerie Cox said
“That’s not even a question we would ask.”
Though the group does work with FEMA and
state governments to coordinate relief efforts,
it doesn’t take any government money directly
because of the restrictions that accompany gov-
ernment grants.
“You never pray on the government’s dime …
so we don’t take government money, we don’t
take state money,” Kevin Cox said. “So if a family
does want prayer, we can pray for them.”
In Sonoma County, Rebuilding Our Communi-
ty Sonoma County co-chairman Adam Peacocke
helped the group identify the two Sonoma Coun-
ty clients it has approved for assistance.
“I am incredibly grateful to have them as a re-
source in our recovery. The truth is, it’s not easy
right now to do volunteer rebuilds,” Peacocke
said. “I don’t know where we would be without
their willingness to help.”
You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Beale at 707-
521-5205 or andrew.beale@pressdemocrat.com.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H13

Rebuild NORTH BAY

Taking comfort in
family, higher power
Faith and church prove integral to maintaining perspective in fires’ aftermath
By MELODY KARPINSKI had to realize this is not our

T
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT home, (because) you feel like
your stuff is a big part of your
here are some things identity.”
flames can’t take. In the days that followed, it
Matt Condie found wasn’t always easy to keep a
himself realizing this positive attitude as both Condie
as he stood in the rubble of the and his wife, Katie, who was on
first home he had bought with vacation in Africa with family
his wife and family in Santa members when the fire erupt-
Rosa’s Coffey Park neighbor- ed, dealt with the aftermath.
hood. The family found additional
“When it’s gone, you realize support in their local church
you’re left with what real- community at the Rock Calvary
ly matters in life like your Chapel on Piner Road, where
relationships with the people they have attended for four
around you and your relation- years and where 40 families
ship with a higher power,” in the congregation lost their
Condie said. “What you hold homes.
onto that’s more than just the DARRYL BUSH / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT “Our church played a huge
physical world and what you Sisters Hanna, left, and Maggie Fletcher, stand in front of their family’s nearly part in our comfort,” Katie
can touch and feel and because completed new house Nov. 18 in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood. Condie said. “My pastor’s wife
everything here we hold up as called soon after and just start-
meaningful in life can all go up in flames in one night.” ed ordering us bunk beds, mattresses, sheets and towels.”
Condie, a mechanical engineer at Keysight Technologies, had just There were school transitions for Jack because his school, Hidden
been taking the trash out late the night of the Tubbs fire. When em- Valley Elementary, had burned down; insurance haggling; the search
bers began to fall on his front lawn in those early morning hours on for a rental; and ultimately making a decision about whether they
Oct. 9, 2017, he fled with his two young sons, Jack, then 5, and James, would rebuild. Just six weeks after the fire, Jack was unexpectedly
then 2, as smoke filled the air, causing Jack’s nose to bleed and hospitalized with smoke-induced pneumonia coupled with a diagno-
Condie to run out with nothing but he and his wife’s laptops. sis of a pediatric autoimmune disease.
“Life is fragile. No matter where you live or how much money you “We were just raw from the crisis, and then Jack gets hospitalized
make or how in control you feel — your life can all be turned on its
head in one night within a matter of a few hours,” Condie said. “I TURN TO FAMILY » PAGE H14

In the days following losing their home to the

Tubbs fire, Matt and Katie Condie and their
children found support in their church community
at Rock Calvary Chapel in Santa Rosa.

REBEL FOX PHOTOGRAPHY

H14 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018

FAMILY
CONTINUED FROM H13
and his life is at risk,” she said. “But we
had so many people praying for us and
holding us up when we couldn’t stand,
and I knew I was being sustained by a
higher power.”
The Condies are embracing their
beliefs again as Matt Condie’s aunt
and uncle were forced to evacuate
from Paradise because of the Camp
fire in Butte County and his cousin in
Malibu was forced to evacuate during
the Woolsey fire. His aunt and uncle
returned recently to find their home
still standing, although an oak tree
had fallen on their garage, destroying
it, and smoke damage was rampant
throughout.
“God doesn’t promise us it will be
easy, but he does promise us he’ll be
with us,” Katie Condie said. “I felt that
through the fires and I do have that as-
surance for my relatives in Paradise —
God was with us so I know he’ll be with
you. It actually made more confident
for the future — if something terrible
happens again he’ll be with us again
just like he was with us during this — I
don’t have to be afraid.”
Her husband agrees.
“When life went up in smoke, I
could still have joy and life and still
praise (God) for keeping my family
safe even though we lost everything,”
Matt Condie said. “It was comforting to
know when my life was stripped down
to the core, I could still be encouraged
and didn’t lose my faith.”
Consolation found in faith
For Maggie Fletcher, her faith made
the trial of losing her home bearable.
“It’s crazy when everything you
know on Earth gets taken away from
you,” Fletcher said. “The only thing
that got us through is the hope we have
in Christ.”
Fletcher, 19, and her sister, Hanna
Fletcher, 20, were both students at San-
ta Rosa Junior College, and had come
home early from a family camping trip
to attend classes the next day. They, too,
fled Coffey Park in the early hours of
the October 2017 Monday morning as
the Tubbs fire spread.
Fletcher’s parents, Carl and Kers-
tin Fletcher, are the pastors of Grace
Church on Fulton Road, and their
church community surrounded them
in the aftermath of the fires.
“We had a huge meal train after we
were able to get a rental, and one fami-
ly got us a computer and some clothes,”
Maggie Fletcher said. “There are ladies
in our church who write us cards of
encouragement.”
Fletcher acknowledged the natural
Sisters Lily, from left, Maggie, and Hanna Fletcher join their father, the Rev. Carl Fletcher, in
song during a Sunday service Nov. 18 at Grace Church of Santa Rosa.
struggles she found dealing with recon-
ciling the positive elements of her faith
with the difficulties of her family’s
personal tragedy.
“Dealing with the shock of some-
thing like having such a terrible thing
happen to you — you still wake up
some days and wonder why,” Fletcher
said. “It’s not fine.”
But for Fletcher the struggle is part
of the blessing.
“We are supposed to expect hard-
ships and trials and not be surprised by
them — this isn’t what forever is going
to be like (because) we have a heavenly
inheritance,” Fletcher said. “It’s hard
not to get angry when you don’t under-
stand, but we have a God who sees how
to work it out to a greater good for his
glory.”
The Fletcher family is in the process
of rebuilding, a decision they wrestled
with about building a home in a “sad
place.”
“There’s a lot of questions and won-
dering because we like to see the good
in the trials and I haven’t seen it yet in
this,” Fletcher said. “But, in a funny
way, it’s made me closer to Christ.”
God as a ‘proactive power’
An American flag at half-staff in the
light of the orange sky was the last
thing the LeBlond family saw as they
fled their Kenwood home of 33 years
while fires lit up on both sides of their
property.
Seth LeBlond, 22, had lowered the
American flag he flew in his backyard
in memory of the Las Vegas shooting
victims just days prior.
His siblings, Ethan LeBlond, 27, and
DARRYL BUSH / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Hannah LeBlond, 31, evacuated with
their dad, Ray LeBlond, to their church,
North Bay Revival Center in Petaluma.
Seth LeBlond and his mother, Jan,
evacuated to Paradise, where her sister
lived with their three cats in tow. Along
the way, she heard him say under his
breath the word “Invicta,” which is
Latin for “unconquerable.”
It’s a theme the family carries with
them.
“I haven’t suffered depression be-
cause our hope and trust in God and in
his goodness was there long before the
fires,” Ray LeBlond said. “He is going
to bring good out of this because that
is who He is — the proactive power to
restore and redeem.”
Ray LeBlond is one of the senior
leaders of their church, and Hannah
LeBlond serves as the worship pastor
there. Neither felt they could leave
their parishioners as the church
quickly became a gathering place for
their church community and another
Spanish-speaking congregation that
met in their building, Bethel Iglesia.
Included in their congregation was a
family who had already survived Hur-
ricane Katrina, who were able to relate
to the loss.
It was a week before they knew their
house was gone. When Ray LeBlond
called his wife in Paradise to let her
know, she felt a kind of peace.
“It’s seeing God through the smoke,”
Jan LeBlond said. “When you realize
the love of God, it erases every possible
question and all you can feel is — my
response, all I could do is ‘I love you,
I trust you and I praise you,’ which
I’ve now passed onto my relatives in
Paradise.”
Her relatives lost outbuildings in the
still-burning Camp fire, but their house
was still standing.
“I felt him (God) so strongly in the
car I was leaving, and was so thankful
for his presence,” Hannah LeBlond
said. “It made all of the difference.”
‘Seeing God just ahead of us’
Daryl and Jan Reese just had
returned from their dream vacation
in Italy, a belated anniversary trip of
a lifetime. They wearily pulled into
the driveway of their home in Lark-
field-Wikiup on late Sunday evening,
took sleeping pills to stave off jet lag
and promptly fell asleep.
Within a few hours their phones be-
gan ringing, and they found themselves
groggily trying to understand what
was happening as neighbors worked to
reach them as the fire quickly ap-
proached. They threw their suitcases,
a shaving kit and their beloved dog,
Molly, into their two cars and left. Later
that morning, they knew their home
was gone.
When they returned to the ruins,
they were surprised to find within
the remains of their overturned chest
freezer a now fully cooked turkey.
“It was very clear that here in the
midst of our loss here we had this
Thanksgiving turkey that really is a
symbol in our culture of thankful-
ness,” Daryl Reese said. “That really
carried us — recognizing we had so
much to be thankful for despite the
huge devastation of everything we had
just lost.”
The couple, and their daughter, 26,
plan to rebuild and are hoping to break
ground by Christmas.
“I kept seeing God just ahead of
us,” Jan Reese said. “From our timing
coming home — Molly would have died
in the fire otherwise — and all the way
through our postfire journey, every-
thing just kept falling into place.”
Daryl Reese agreed, saying, “God was
just very real in that time and I think
we experienced a level of peace which
got us through.”
There are challenges still — from
larger daily logistical issues dealing
with insurance and rebuilding plans
to small things like forgetting which
kitchen items need to be replaced. The
family always makes ravioli on Christ-
mas and discovered mid-recipe last
year they no longer had a rolling pin.
Despite the struggles, they remain
positive and confident in their faith.
“Being a believer or people of faith
doesn’t mean life is without challenges
and it’s not putting on rose-colored
glasses and saying everything is good
because God is good,” Daryl Reese said.
“Everything could be horrible, but God
is still good.”

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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H15

A year after the North Bay’s catastrophic wildfires, many ministers are finding
themselves in the midst of a profound moment to live by the values the preach

PHOTOS BY CHRIS HARDY / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Parishioners attend a service at Crosspoint Community

Church in Santa Rosa. Along with many of their
congregants, church pastors suffered personal losses in
last year’s devastating wildfires in Sonoma County.

Pastors meditate
on fire’s meaning

KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

“I never doubted God, other than to ask ‘Are you trying to say something I’m not getting?’”says Warren Hays, a pastor at Alexander Valley Christian Fellowship north of Healdsburg who
holds a photograph of the only thing left standing in the former Santa Rosa home — the chimney — after the Tubbs fire. Hays’ new home is nearly complete.

By CLARK MASON
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

T
heir homes burned down, they escaped
with only a few belongings ahead of
the flames, and they relied on the kind-
ness of others to get back on their feet.
Church pastors suffered some of the same
personal losses as their parishioners in last
year’s devastating fires in Sonoma County.
But as men of God, the sorrow and pain
brought existential questions and a search
for meaning behind the catastrophe.
Why me? What part does suffering play
in God’s plan? Why are some houses un-
touched when scores of others burn around
them?
Fickle winds, drought conditions and
changing climate are some of the obvious
causes for the conflagration, but the faith
leaders look for deeper answers.
The Rev. Warren Hays saw his Santa Rosa
home of 25 years destroyed with only a
chimney left standing. Significantly, a black
cross that he placed above the fireplace was
intact and didn’t melt.
He and his wife fled their home off Parker CHRIS HARDY / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Hill Road with only their dog, a couple of The Rev. Mike Baker, right, chats with parishioners at Crosspoint Community Church. Baker, who fled his
vintage guitars, a few clothes and prescrip- burning Santa Rosa home in 2017 along with his family, has benefited from an outpouring of support.
tion medications. Their 48-year-old son
stayed and made a fruitless fight against tioning God is part of our faith.” said. “There’s a lot of healing in tears.”
the flames with a garden hose. He suffered But despite his loss and that of others, “I As executive director of the chaplains who
smoke inhalation but survived. never doubted God, other than to ask ‘Are assist Sonoma County law enforcement, Hays
A short time after the destruction, Hays you trying to say something I’m not get- helps console people who lose loved ones to
said he felt God’s presence “and his grief ting?’” suicide, drug overdoses, and accidents.
with me. My puzzlement is, ‘God if you Hays said he doesn’t try to be strong just He said his own problems diminish when
grieve with me, why not prevent it?’” because he has the title “pastor.” he helps others. And he has more to offer by
Hays, 76, who for the past 10 years has “I am still working through it. Trying to acknowledging how difficult life can be.
headed up the Alexander Valley Christian be strong is the wrong emphasis. I let myself
Fellowship north of Healdsburg, said “ques- be weak, cry when I feel like crying,” he TURN TO PASTORS » PAGE H17

“I am still working through it. Trying to be strong is the wrong

emphasis. I let myself be weak, cry when I feel like crying.”
WARREN HAYS, 76-year-old pastor with Alexander Valley Christian Fellowship who lost his home in Santa Rosa during the Tubbs fire
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H17

PASTORS
CONTINUED FROM H15
Bottom line: “I have to learn to be
grateful, no matter what happens in
sickness or health,” he said. “God
stays with me and his love never
fails.”
In Sonoma County more than
50 congregations came together
after the October 2017 fires to help
victims, which included 15 pastors
who lost homes, according to Adam
Peacocke, a pastor with City Life
Fellowship in Santa Rosa.
More than a year later, many
families are still coming to terms
with their losses, Peacocke said,
and churches continue to help
them with living expenses via the
Sonoma County Churches United
Relief Fund.
The need for ecumenical assis-
tance has grown even more with
the recent Camp fire, the deadliest
and most destructive in California
history, which obliterated the town
of Paradise.
Peacocke traveled there to helped
coordinate the faith-based commu- CHRIS HARDY / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
nity’s outreach to fire victims. Pastor Mike Baker leads a prayer with congregants of Crosspoint Community Church in Santa Rosa.
“This is just a tremendous oppor-
tunity to put the values of our faith Baker said that in a lot of ways, where King David and his men spective on this is hard to see at the
into action,” he said of qualities he’s glad he lost his house like so discover their city destroyed by fire time,” Jackson said, including the
that include love, compassion and many others in the community, and wept “until they had no more question “‘Why me?’ I don’t have it
hope. because “I’m able to relate and power to weep.” all sorted out on my level.”
He said a catastrophic fire and its provide hope, rather than being on Despite David’s despair and Afterward, the couple had to live
aftermath provides a great moment the outside looking in.” grieving, “he strengthened himself for six months in a small duplex with
to live out the values of collabora- Rather than testing his faith, he in the Lord, his God,” Baker said. their youngest son before they got an
tion. The single biggest factor in sees fires, natural disasters, disease He said it helps “to have eternal apartment near their other son.
helping to recover, Peacocke said, and evil as the reason God “ulti- perspective — this life isn’t all there But, “it turned out to be a real
“is resiliency, not so much the num- mately needs to save and transform is.” blessing. It worked some great
ber of dollars, but the relational the world.” “It really was our faith in God wonders in our relationships,” he
fabric of the community.” “Yes it’s horrible and tragic. This that brought us through this so said, explaining that he now sees
“When you’re looking at a disas- is why the world needs God now strong,” Baker said. “We were his four grandchildren, ages 3 to 15,
ter of this magnitude, it’s a mara- more than ever,” he said. blessed to have a church family that every day.
thon, not a sprint,” he added, citing The fire drove home for him some loved us and to have that relation- Jackson said that Christianity,
an African proverb: “If you want to biblical passages, such as Jesus’ Ser- ship with God and provide for us in not unlike other faiths, has “a
go fast, go alone. If you want to go mon on the Mount in which he tells so many ways.” whole aspect of learning how to
far, go together.” his followers “Lay not up for your- Tom Jackson, 70, a retired pastor suffer with those who suffer.”
The Rev. Mike Baker of Santa selves treasures upon earth where at City Life Fellowship in Santa “You can always find someone
Rosa, who fled his burning Coffey moth and rust doth corrupt … but Rosa, lost his townhouse just west who has gone through worse
Park home in 2017 along with his lay up for yourselves treasures in of Coffey Park to the Tubbs fire, circumstances than you have,” he
wife and two children, benefited, heaven … for where your treasure is, along with personal art work and said, adding that his fire experience
along with other fire victims, from there will your heart be also.” the studio where his wife, Regina, “knocked me out of some self-
an outpouring of support and Then, there is the passage in the gave ballet lessons. centeredness.”
donations. Old Testament book of 1 Samuel “Trying to address God’s per- He said the church community
Three days after the fire, Bap- reached out to help him with funds
tist-affiliated churches brought nine
trucks worth of supplies, food and “We were blessed to have a church for housing and essential items like
furniture, bedding and clothing.
water to his Crosspoint Commu-
family that loved us and to have
Jackson feels bad for people who
nity Church off Guerneville Road, don’t have the support of a faith-
which barely avoided the flames. based community. “It’s meant a ton
The building became a distribution
center stacked floor-to-ceiling in
that relationship with God and to us,” he said, his voice cracking
with emotion. “It’s the amazing gift
places with food, clothing, shoes
and toiletries, helping out more provide for us in so many ways.” of having people that care for you
and love you and are going to help
than 1,000 people. TOM JACKSON, 70-year-old retired pastor for City Life Fellowship in Santa Rosa you through it.”

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H18 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018

DARRYL BUSH / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Allen and Veronica Darrimon embrace Nov. 17 in front of their lot on Hemlock Street where they are rebuilding their home in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood. Allen, a bishop of the

Resilient state B
Peterson Lan ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, ministered to Tubbs fire survivors while having to confront his own losses after the Tubbs fire in 2017.

By DEREK MOORE
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

y the time Allen and Veronica Darrimon arrived

after wildfires
at their church in northwest Santa Rosa early
on the morning of Oct. 9 last year, several other
members of the congregation already were there,
dazed and confused amid an unfolding disaster of
historic magnitude.
As bishop of the Peterson Lane ward of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Allen Darrimon found
himself in an unenviable position — ministering to vic-
tims of the Tubbs fire while at the same time confronting

Santa Rosa’s Mormon community shows fortitude,

his own terrifying situation. He and his wife narrowly
escaped the firestorm, fleeing just ahead of flames that
devoured their Coffey Park home of nearly 30 years.
determination in unprecendented test of disaster “It was very scary,” Darrimon, 64, recalled.

TURN TO MORMON » PAGE H19

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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H19

MORMON
CONTINUED FROM H18
Self-reliance is central
to the Mormon faith.
Members of the church
are asked to stock food and
keep 72-hour emergency
kits on hand for emer-
gencies. Special funds,
some from monies raised
through the church’s
practice of tithing, also
are available to assist
members who face sudden
hardship.
The October 2017 fires,
however, proved an un-
precedented test for the
roughly 4,500 members of
the church’s Santa Rosa
stake, which also includes
Healdsburg, Sebastopol,
Windsor and Kenwood.
A year later, the fires’
lingering impacts are still
deeply felt within the local
Mormon community.
“It’s been a struggle.
That’s the only honest
way to say it,” said Gary
Kitchen, an insurance
executive and president of
the Santa Rosa stake. “At
the same time, the human
spirit is very resilient. I PHOTOS BY DARRYL BUSH / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
attribute that to having a Fellow neighbors walk along Dogwood Drive while touring the rebuilding progress on Nov. 17 in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood.
belief structure to rely on.
They’ve been able to work
through it together.”
Kitchen said about 100
households in the Santa
Rosa stake were directly af-
fected by the firestorm. Just
more than half were church
members who belong to
the Peterson Lane ward. Of
those, about a half-dozen
were residents of the Coffey
Park neighborhood.
Allen Darrimon is a
retired Sonoma County
Regional Parks manager,
and his wife, Veronica, is a
special education teacher
in Guerneville. The couple,
who have no children,
Above, neighbors tour a nearly completed home on Tuliptree Road in Coffey Park on Nov. 17.
bought their Hemlock
Meagan Biagini, right, keeps watch over a friend’s 1-year-old child, Maverick McCabe, in the
Street home in 1992 and
front yard of her mother’s newly rebuilt home on Tuliptree Road.
over the years had put in a
lot of work on renovations. took charge of the ad-hoc tive, Kitchen said hope and were always pleasant with
That effort and expense shelter, assigning dis- resilience have been major one another, but now they
went to waste in the placed families to class- themes of church services are friends, the result of
firestorm. rooms where they could this year. He said all major relying upon one another
It arrived in Coffey Park bed down for the night and religions teach that a per- to survive a nightmare.
about two hours past mid- in coming days. son “can recover. You can “We love our neighbor-
night on Oct. 9, when Allen “We saw a need and rebuild. You can reform. hood, for one. And we like
went into the backyard to started organizing it,” said You can move to higher the neighbors, honestly,”
investigate a strong smell Duaine Wood, a 66-year-old ground, if you will.” Allen Darrimon said.
of smoke, recalling that he electrical engineer. Though the Darrimons
felt an intense heat on his Mary, a homemaker, lost their home and all of ✿ POTTERY ✿ STATUARY ✿ FOUNTAINS ✿ SEEDS ✿ BULBS ✿ ROSES ✿ GARDEN GIFTS ✿
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in front of a hot oven. Walk-
ing out to the front of the
house, he looked down the
street at a horrific scene:
ers helped with security.
People who are not mem-
bers of the LDS church
also were welcomed to find
still consider themselves
relatively fortunate.
They have found long-
term temporary housing
✿

wind-whipped flames, some shelter there. in an apartment complex

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40-feet tall, ripping through
the trees, bearing down on
where he stood.
Veronica, alerted to the
danger, handed her hus-
band a flash drive contain-
Kitchen, the Santa Rosa
stake president, said specif-
ic ward membership, bro-
ken down by where mem-
bers reside, lends itself well
to disaster response.
in Santa Rosa managed by
a church member. Allen
Darrimon considers it a
“miracle” space was avail-
able. He said the apart- Prickett’s North Bay Wildfire
ment complex normally Landscape Assistance
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ing precious photos and
documents. Allen set the
device on the front porch
ledge as he rushed inside
the house to grab keys to
the couple’s two cars. To
his everlasting regret, he
forgot to grab the flash
drive as he ran back out of
the house to the car.
The couple fought
through a traffic jam to
reach the Peterson Lane
“I think a number of
other churches are not as
geographic, so you had
congregants from a huge
area,” he said. “It’s much
more difficult to plan and
organize, I imagine.”
Kitchen calculated that
the church’s lay ministers
in the Santa Rosa stake
contributed 10,000 volun-
teer hours to disaster relief
through the end of 2017.
is full, but in August 2017
had 10 vacant units, all of If your home and/or landscape have been damaged by
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Still, a year after the
massive fire, only two
families in the Santa Rosa
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lost in the blaze have
begun construction on
new houses, according to
✿

ward. When the order came Church members do- Kitchen. The Darrimons
STATUARY

to evacuate the facility, they
were on the move again,
this time to the Stony Point
Road ward. There, the early
stages of a shelter were
nated upward of $100,000
in direct assistance to
fire victims. The church’s
“Fast Offering Fund” —
derived from contributions
are last on a contractor’s
list of 42 clients signed up
for rebuilds.
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 H21

PHOTOS BY CHARLIE GESELL / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Pastor Timothy Lyons, a chaplain of the Order of Malta Cupertino, delivers the homily Nov. 18 at the St. Rose Catholic Church in Santa Rosa. The congregation has become a de facto

Embracing lesson
headquarters for Catholic wildfire relief work in Santa Rosa and it is expanding its work to aid fire survivors in Butte County.

of helping neighbors
SR Catholic church, Order of Malta join forces in support for fire relief efforts
By CHRISTI WARREN
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

W
hen the Tubbs fire raged toward Fred
Wiele’s Santa Rosa home in October 2017,
he had time to grab three things: a pho-
tograph of his late wife, Patricia, his medication
and a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that Wiele
brought back from a pilgrimage to Medjugorje,
Bosnia, where many fellow Catholics believe she
appeared to six children in 1981.
With just 15 minutes to evacuate for Wiele, the
three most important parts of his life jumped to the
forefront: family, health and faith.
In the end, the fire spared his house. Not so the
homes of about 90 members of his St. Rose Catholic
Church community and many of his neighbors.
“I learned a real lesson,” said Wiele, 80. “Even
though my house wasn’t burned, I learned that it
makes you step back and think about what’s import-
ant in life, so that’s what got me interested in trying
to reach out and help other people.”
It is for them and because of them that as a mem-
ber of St. Rose’s parish council, Wiele has worked in
the months since to coordinate relief efforts for the
wider Sonoma County Catholic community. St. Rose parishioner Michelle Lashinski, left, greets Order of Malta member Kathleen Bruno of
His efforts are part of the outpouring of help from Burlingame on Nov. 18 as fellow Order of Malta member David Barca of Palo Alto joins them.
the Order of Malta, which provides emergency hu-
manitarian aid to communities affected by disasters
around the world. The organization has donated ap-
pliances, furniture and clothing to survivors, while
“Even though my house wasn’t burned, I
also offering resources for emotional and physical
healing.
learned that it makes you step back and
As a result, St. Rose Catholic Church, has become
think about what’s important in life.”
TURN TO LESSON » PAGE H22 FRED WIELE, Santa Rosa resident and member of St. Rose Catholic Church’s parish council

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H22
Chaplains in the Order of Malta conduct a joint service Nov. 18 with the St. Rose Catholic Church clergy in Santa Rosa.
LESSON
CONTINUED FROM H21
a de facto headquarters for Catholic relief
work in Santa Rosa.
On Sunday, the church hosted a healing
bilingual Mass of Thanksgiving, in partner-
ship with the Order of Malta — the fourth
such Mass Wiele helped coordinate since the
October 2017 fires.
Among those in the crowd of about 300
at St. Rose on Sunday was Len Marabella,
the executive director of Catholic Charities
of Santa Rosa. The Fountaingrove home he
shared with his wife was destroyed in the
Tubbs fire. They are not rebuilding, opting
instead to purchase a home in Oakmont.
With his job, and Catholic Charities’ ex-
panded reach post-fires, rebuilding seemed
too daunting a project for the couple. Their
scraped Fountaingrove lot is up for sale.
“I’m very thankful for where we are,” he
said. “It was a Mass of Thanksgiving, and
my wife and I are very thankful everything
has worked out for us.”
Like so many within the church, the fires
drew Marabella deeper into his faith. “Some-
times you just meditate and realize that God
is with you wherever you are,” he said.
Following the Mass last Sunday, about
150 people joined together in the St. Rose
Parish Hall for lunch, where organizations
had set up tables to provide ongoing relief
information.
Member FDIC | NMLS #458732
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2018
Many of those efforts, including the Order
of Malta and Catholic Charities of Santa
Rosa, are now gearing up to support fellow
relief workers responding to Butte County’s
devastating Camp fire.
“The timing of (the Mass) is either ironic
or divine providence, and I like to think it’s
the latter,” said Kathleen Bruno, communi-
cations coordinator for the Order of Malta’s
Western Association. “We are all heartbro-
ken for the Paradise community, but take
strength from the Sonoma County fire vic-
tims who are evidence of community support
and activation and God’s healing and mercy.”
The smoky haze this month casted the
Mass of Thanksgiving in a different light for
many in attendance — the unprecedented
death and devastation to the north a topic of
PHOTOS BY CHARLIE GESELL / FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Nurse practitioner
Mary Rudolph of
Menlo Park and
member of the
Order of Malta gives
a flu shot to Ron
LaCasse, who lost his
home in Santa Rosa’s
Coffey Park last year
to the Tubbs fire. The
vaccinations were
given Nov. 18 after
services at the St.
Rose Catholic Church
in Santa Rosa.
conversation and cause for sorrow.
Len Marabella recalled that he was at a
fundraiser when he got a call from his son,
who lives in Butte County. He had phoned to
tell his father that fierce winds and flames
were forcing him to flee his home in Maga-
lia. A week later, the family still didn’t know
what had happened to the home.
“He said, ‘I know I won’t be homeless,’ ”
Marabella said of his son’s confidence in the
generosity of others. “I know the feeling. We
also knew we wouldn’t be homeless, but it
took a little while to figure out the next step.
“That’s why I work at Catholic Charities.
The message of the Gospel is to help those
who need help. That is the most important
thing: to help your neighbor. That’s what I’m
doing, and I’ll be continuing to do that.”