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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM

Trump halts stimulus relief talks

CORONAVIRUS » President’s
move seeks to add pressure
for high court appointment
By ERICA WERNER AND JEFF STEIN
WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Economic re-
Donald
lief talks screeched to a halt Tuesday
Trump
as President Donald Trump ordered
INSIDE Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Fed chairman to stop negotiating with House
warns of lasting Speaker Nancy Pelosi until after the
recession / B1 election.
In a series of tweets less than
24 hours after he was released from
a hospital, Trump accused Pelosi,
D-San Francisco, of failing to nego-
tiate in good faith, after she reject-
ed an opening bid from Mnuchin in
their latest round of talks.
“I have instructed my representa-
tives to stop negotiating until after
the election when, immediately after
I win, we will pass a major Stimulus
Bill that focuses on hardworking
Americans and Small Business,”
Trump wrote.
Trump’s surprising announce-
ment stood in stark contrast with
recommendations from Federal Re-
serve Chairman Jerome Powell, who
had said in a speech hours earlier
that more economic stimulus was
needed to sustain the recovery.
Trump’s tweets sent the stock mar-
ket lower, as many businesses, house-
holds and investors had been hoping
for a jolt of fiscal stimulus amid signs
the economy had lost momentum.
The Dow Jones industrial average
ended down 376 points, or 1.3%. The
Nasdaq and S&P 500 also fell.
Trump is still dealing with his re-
cent COVID-19 diagnosis, but he has
tried to dismiss the illness’s impact
on him in the past two days.
Trump’s declaration appeared to
kill any near-term chance of new
aid for millions of Americans who
remain out work and at risk of
eviction. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke
shortly after Trump’s tweets, and
Mnuchin informed Pelosi that the
negotiations were indeed over, ac-
cording to Pelosi’s spokesman.
Trump said he instead asked Senate
TURN TO TRUMP » PAGE A2

FIRE PREVENTION
GLASS FIRE » Race is on to thwart erosion after Hood Mountain,
Sugarloaf landscapes left in mosaic of ash and unburned islands County
Patchy charred parks allocates
$35M for
projects
Some money from
PG&E settlement to go
to protection, housing
By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Capping a lengthy and con-

flicted discussion, a majority
of Sonoma County’s supervi-
sors voted Tuesday evening to
spend a total of $35 million from
PG&E’s settlement linked to the
2017 wildfires on a combination
of wildfire protection and af-
fordable housing.
About $85 million remains
from the $149 million payout af-
ter the board last month tapped
nearly $27 million of the settle-
ment funds to help fill a budget
deficit.
Supervisor David Rabbitt cast
the lone dissent on a 4-1 vote
Tuesday, saying he wanted more
detailed reports about how the
money to be used would achieve
its ends. Of the money allocat-
ed Tuesday, $25 million would
PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
go to fire protection, described
Los Angeles City Fire Department firefighter Richard Cervantes carries hose and a chainsaw to put out hot spots and clear trees Monday along as brush management, and $10
Pony Gate Trail in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Sugarloaf and Hood Mountain Regional Park were heavily burned by the Glass fire. million to affordable housing.
The board’s third leading
By JULIE JOHNSON priority was repairing miles of
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT county roads damaged by the

F
rom a distance, wildfire ash almost
looks like snow peaking out from
stands of barren trees and pockets
of green canopy on the ridges and slopes
encompassing 8,800 acres of parkland in
the Mayacamas Mountains straddling the
Sonoma and Napa valleys.
The Glass fire burned through the ma-
jority of these treasured preserved lands,
moving throughout all of Hood Mountain
Regional Park and roughly 90% of Sugar-
loaf Ridge State Park, leaving pockets of
green islands within the burn scars.
Stewards of these lands say the next
several months will involve urgent work
to prevent traumatic erosion to the land,
stop large sediment deposits from clogging
creeks, and tamping down invasive weeds
so that native plants have a chance to grow
back and thrive.
Though it could be months before the
public is allowed to return to the trails
and the stunning panoramic view of the
valley from Gunsight Rock, the outlook is
far from grim for the flora and creatures
adapted to fire.
“It’s not a tragedy when a park burns,”
said Melanie Parker, deputy director of
An excavator removes burned vegetation along the Gray Pine Trail in the park on Monday.
Sonoma County Regional Parks.
Staff in both parks have been unable
conduct thorough assessments of the
damage, with the Glass fire still burning
and only half contained. Cal Fire crews
are still putting out isolated areas of
firestorm three years ago. Su-
pervisor James Gore’s initial
motion was to spend $34.2 mil-
lion on roads, $25 million on
vegetation management and $10
million on housing, seconded by
Supervisor Shirlee Zane.
A total of 38 people addressed
the board via Zoom during the
discussion that ran more than
three hours, with several im-
ploring the county to repair
heavily damaged Cavedale and
Trinity roads above Sonoma
Valley.
A decision on road repair
TURN TO PG&E » PAGE A2
INSIDE
VAN HALEN GUITARIST DIES:
smoldering fire in Adobe Canyon leading Eddie Van Halen, known
into Sugarloaf. Other workers have already for his speed, control and
begun to repair the expanded trails and innovation, succumbs to
bare-earth fire breaks cleared by dozers cancer at age 65 / B1
TURN TO PARKS » PAGE A5
SANTA ROSA
High 76, Low 47

Containment hits 54% as fire lines fortified

THE WEATHER, C8

By NASHELLY CHAVEZ
AND ETHAN VARIAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A run of cool weather set to begin
Wednesday is expected to help firefighters
gain more ground on the Glass fire, where
officials reported 54% containment Tues-
day and growth of only about 210 acres, to
a total of 67,050 acres.
Advice B7 Legals D5
Business B8 Lotto A2
The progress marked a sig- INSIDE ed by Oct. 20, Cal Fire said. Comics B6 Nation-World B1
nificant jump in control amid Firefighters hospitalized, The damage toll Tuesday also Crossword B7 Obituaries B3
a favorable weather forecast being tested for carbon grew, to 319 destroyed single- and Editorial A6 Sonoma Feast D1
as fire bosses on Tuesday re- monoxide exposure / A3 multi-family homes in Sonoma Horoscopes B5 Sports C1
leased about 269 firefighters County and 301 homes in Napa
from their assignment on the Glass fire, County. And those tallies are expected to
representing about 10% of the overall peak continue rising, as only about two-thirds
force for the blaze. of the burn zone or 65% had been assessed
Full containment of the wildfire, which
erupted Sept. 27 in Napa County, is expect- TURN TO FIRE » PAGE A2 ©2020 The Press Democrat
A2 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020

FIRE day with the goal of making the area

safe for utility workers who need to
make necessary repairs to the road and
TRUMP BREAKING DOWN SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
Sonoma County public health officials continue to urge
CONTINUED FROM A1 power poles before residents are let CONTINUED FROM A1 residents to call their doctor if they are ill, think they have
back in, Nicholls said. flu-like symptoms and want to learn whether they should be
for property damage as of Tuesday after- The Walbridge fire north of the Rus- Majority Leader Mitch tested for coronavirus.
noon, Cal Fire said. sian River, where Cal Fire continues McConnell, R-Kentucky,
With a reprieve from heat, and stron- to get reports of smoldering stumps,
ger containment lines around the blaze, would also stand to benefit from rain,
“not to delay, but to instead
focus full time on approving
1,507 122 8,160
the focus for firefighters Wednesday no matter how little it may be. my outstanding nominee to
Active cases
as of Tuesday
Deaths
as of Tuesday
(4%)
will turn to mop-up work deep within “That rain will help bring up the the United States Supreme Positive results
the fire’s perimeter and strengthening moisture on the landscape and ulti-
their hold on the blaze, Cal Fire Divi- mately help us get these two fires closer
Court,
Barrett.”
Amy Coney 182,872 6,408 174,712
Tests finished Recovered
sion Chief Ben Nicholls said. to being controlled and get us ready be-
“We’re really excited about it but fore we experience more winds,” Nich-
McConnell, who spoke
with Trump shortly before
as of Tuesday as of Tuesday (96%)
ultimately it’s not here yet, so the fire- olls said, underscoring that it’s still the president’s announce- Negative results
fighters on the line are going to contin- early October, a historically fire-prone ment, said he agreed with
ue to work the line as they have over month for the region. the decision.
the last week,” Nicholls said, referring “While the rain would be nice, we “I think his view was VIRUS CASES IN COUNTY BY AGE
to the incoming change in weather. still have a month left to go before we’re
Temperatures in Sonoma County in a system of more consistent rain,”
that they were not going
to produce a result and we
3% 13% 14%
and Napa counties will dip by about 5 Nicholls said. needed to concentrate on Under 5 5-17 18-24
degrees on Wednesday compared to Haze will linger in parts of Napa and what’s achievable,” the ma-
Tuesday, the start of a cooling trend Sonoma counties due to the Glass fire jority leader told reporters
expected to continue into the weekend, and other massive wildfires burning in at the Capitol. 19% 17% 13%
when a chance of rain is forecast for Northern California, said Ralph Borr- Trump’s pronounce- 25-34 35-44 45-54
the North Bay, National mann, a spokesman for ment came after days of
Weather Service meteo- “While the rain the Bay Area Air Quali- sustained if long-shot ne-
rologist Anna Schneider
said. would be nice,
ty Management District.
The district extended
gotiations between Pelosi
and Mnuchin. Pelosi later
9% 5% 6%
Santa Rosa will see its Spare the Air Alert speculated to Democratic 55-64 65-74 75 or older
temperatures in the mid- we still have through Thursday, re- colleagues on a conference
to upper 70s Wednes-
day, while Napa County a month left stricting indoor and
outdoor wood burning.
call that the president’s
sudden change in position
VIRUS CASES IN COUNTY IN PAST WEEK
highs will range in the
70s and 80s, depending to go before The chance of rain fore-
cast for later in the week
might be connected to the
steroids he’s taking as he
97 79 62 47
New cases Monday Sunday Saturday
on the area, Schneider
we’re in a could flush out the stub- battles COVID-19.
Tuesday
said.
Winds will be tame system of more
born smoke, Borrmann
said.
“Believe me, there are
people who thought, who
84 90 50
in lower elevations, and “That’s quite a game think that steroids have an Friday Thursday Wednesday
gusts in the Napa and
Sonoma mountains
consistent rain.” changer,” he said.
In addition to the 620
impact on your thinking,”
she told Democrats, ac- HOSPITALIZATION
could peak at 20 mph, BEN NICHOLLS, division homes known to be de- cording to a person on the
Currently hospitalized: 31 confirmed cases, 8 suspected cases;
which is typical for those chief for Cal Fire stroyed by the Glass call, who spoke on the con-
as of Monday
areas, Schneider said. fire across Sonoma and dition of anonymity to dis-
By Friday, the daily highs are fore- Napa counties, a separate group of 160 cuss the private comments. Total hospitalized during pandemic: 383
cast to hit about 67 degrees in Santa single- and multifamily homes in both “So, I don’t know.”
Rosa, 70 in Napa and 72 in Calistoga, counties sustained damage, Cal Fire The White House’s focus Sources: Sonoma County health department; state of California;
the weather service said. said. now appears to have shift- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Press Democrat reporting
A storm approaching the region from Nearly 330 commercial buildings on ed from the economic talks ONLINE: See more coronavirus-related data and charts at
pressdemocrat.com/coronavirus-numbers
the Gulf of Alaska is driving the cool- the Napa County side of the fire were to solely pushing for the
er weather and may bring light rain destroyed; in Sonoma County that tally Supreme Court confirma-
over the region sometime this weekend, was 12 as of Tuesday. tion. Even though several the U.S. economy during his in the evening that suggest-
though that forecast remains uncertain. A damage assessment map made Republican senators have string of tweets. ed he actually supported
“All the models that we’re looking public by Napa County illustrated tested positive for the nov- “Our Economy is doing the idea of more spending.
at have been inconsistent,” Schneider some of the fallout. Red markers indi- el coronavirus, McConnell very well,” he wrote. “The Trump’s first set of
said, adding that the rainfall isn’t ex- cated areas where destroyed buildings is moving forward swiftly Stock Market is at record tweets Tuesday came just
pected to be much more than a quarter were clustered northeast of St. Helena, with Barrett’s nomination, levels. JOBS and unem- after he and Mnuchin
or a half-inch of rain if it does come. east of Calistoga and along Silverado trying to get her confirmed ployment also coming back conferred with McCon-
“We’ll hopefully have a better idea as Trail North. before the election. in record numbers.” nell and House Minority
we get closer.” A damage map released Saturday by Still, Trump’s move dis- Even some of Trump’s Leader Kevin McCarthy,
Several evacuation warnings in Sono- the city of Santa Rosa showed only 30 appointed some members top advisers have said that R-Bakersfield, on a confer-
ma County were lifted Tuesday, includ- destroyed buildings, mostly homes, in- of his party who were hop- the economy is not doing ence call. McConnell and
ing areas along Porter Creek Road to the dicating that the majority of the dam- ing to be able to deliver new well and that more assis- McCarthy have expressed
Napa County line and in neighborhoods age in Sonoma County was outside city relief to their constituents. tance is needed. Further, the skepticism about Republi-
to the south and east of the Trione- limits. “Waiting until after the stock market is not at record cans signing on to a giant
Annadel State Park. A warning for Twelve other buildings were dam- election to reach an agree- levels, and it also doesn’t new spending bill. During
homes near Nuns Canyon Road was aged by the fire but can be occupied ment on the next COVID-19 reflect the broader health Tuesday’s call, McConnell
also lifted. with repairs, according to a city spokes- relief package is a huge of the economy. The un- suggested to Trump that
In Napa County, residents were al- woman. mistake,” Sen. Susan Col- employment rate has come Pelosi was stringing him
lowed to return to their homes in most Sonoma County officials had not yet lins, R-Maine, a moderate down from its April peak of along and no deal she cut
of Angwin, Pope Valley and Conn Val- completed their version of a damage in a tough reelection race, about 15%, but it is still at with Mnuchin would com-
ley. Residents in parts of St. Helena map, but hoped to have an updated said in a statement. 7.9%, and millions are strug- mand broad GOP support
not already downgraded to a warning timeline for its release by Wednesday The U.S. economy is gling to pay their bills, af- to pass in the Senate, ac-
were also allowed to go home, save for afternoon, when the county will host facing new head winds. It ford food and find jobs. The cording to two people with
those on Spring Mountain Road west of a virtual public meeting on the fire re- contracted sharply earlier United States has recovered knowledge of the call who
Boyson Lane. covery, beginning at 5 p.m, said Paul this year because of the barely half of the jobs lost in spoke on the condition of
Fire crews continued to work a front Gullixson, a county spokesman. pandemic, leading to mas- March and April. anonymity to discuss it.
of the fire along Highway 29 and Mount The meeting will be livestreamed on sive layoffs and business Trump keeps shifting his Pelosi and Mnuchin had
St. Helena in Napa County that threat- the county’s Facebook page and will be closures. position on how he plans to been working on assem-
ened to advance north into Lake Coun- available in Spanish via the county’s The economy showed proceed. bling a relief bill of between
ty. YouTube page. signs of a partial recovery Three days ago, during $1.6  trillion — which was
“The last couple days it has been con- Panelists will include Cal Fire and in May and June, but busi- his first day in the hospital, Mnuchin’s opening offer
tinuing to burn toward Lake County,” state Department of Insurance offi- nesses and households have he tweeted, “OUR GREAT — and $2.2 trillion, the size
Nicholls said. “Today we’ve been mop- cials, state and federal elected leaders struggled as the virus con- USA WANTS & NEEDS of a stimulus bill passed
ping up within the perimeter to hold and representatives from the nonprofit tinues to infect thousands STIMULUS. WORK TO- last week by House Demo-
the line that we got around it.” group United Policyholders. of Americans each day. GETHER AND GET IT crats. Talks had been mov-
Another target for firefighters was Trump has sought to play DONE. Thank you!” ing slowly but appeared to
the Adobe Canyon Road area north of You can reach Staff Writers Nashelly up the economy’s recovery, And then after he an- be progressing. Pelosi last
Kenwood, where flames from the Glass Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly. often touting partial or in- nounced Tuesday that the week expressed optimism
fire spilled over to the south side of the chavez@pressdemocrat.com and Ethan complete information. That talks were off and that the about reaching a deal, al-
canyon at the onset of the blaze. Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat. continued Tuesday, when economy was great, he though many Republicans
Mop-up work continued there Tues- com or 707-521-5412. he misstated the health of wrote another Twitter post had been skeptical.

PG&E $120 million.

CONTINUED FROM A1
spending was ultimately post-
poned.
Ahead of Tuesday, the heavi-
est lobbying came from fire sur-
vivors who urged the county to
devote most of the settlement
funds to a more aggressive and
long-term brush clearance initia-
tive, including robust fire breaks
surrounding communities.
Prior to Gore’s motion, Susan
Gorin, the board chair, suggested
spending $40 million on roads,
$35 million on vegetation man-
agement and $10 million each
on housing, emergency alerts
and climate change programs —
spending most of the remaining
Rabbitt, known for his cau-
tious approach to fiscal issues,
“people are going to be wildly
disappointed” with such a deci-
sion.
said at one point, and Gore ex-
pressed concern there would be a
3-2 vote. Zane favored a decision,
A report to the board noted
a disparity among residents in
the more than 1,600 responses
asked about the rationale behind “I don’t see a data-driven deci- saying she deplored ”paralysis to a community survey on how
the spending in her proposal. sion,” Supervisor Lynda Hopkins by analysis.” the settlement money should
“They’re coming from me,” said, suggested that spending The final 4-1 vote came after be spent among 17 potential
she said, adding there were “no more on roads than on wildfire Hopkins, with some reservation, uses.
specifics” to any of them. protection “might be sending the joined the majority. English responses ranked the
“I’m not going to be comfort- wrong message.” County Administrator Cheryl top five uses, in order, as vege-
able pulling numbers out of thin Residents participating in Bratton said the Transportation tation management (46%), alert
air,” Rabbitt said, asserting there the meeting had “poured their and Public Works Department and warning systems (41%) ,
was no need to rush through a hearts out” about fear of wild- would return with a specific road road repair (32%), affordable
spending plan. fires and “here we are pouring repair spending plan in 30 days. housing (22%) and community
Gorin subsequently suggest- money into roads,” she said. After attorneys’ fees, the coun- preparedness (20%).
ed the board should engage in a “Roads don’t prevent fires,” ty’s share of PG&E ’s landmark There were only 29 Spanish
“more thoughtful process” and Rabbitt said, repeating his con- settlement with Northern Cal- responses, listing financial assis-
hold up the $10 million for hous- tention that the one-time wind- ifornia governments over the tance (55%), affordable housing
ing until Santa Rosa commits fall from PG&E should be spent 2017 and 2018 fires totaled $149.3 (45%) broadband/internet (28%)
to an equal amount for a joint on what he called “generational million — 61% of the $244.3 mil- community preparedness (24%)
city-county project known as a change.” lion in damages claimed by the and alert and warning systems
renewal enterprise district. “I think we do need to have county and the board spent $26.8 (21%).
Zane, whose district is San- facts over emotion,” he said. million in balancing its budget Three of the uses made both
ta Rosa-based, objected, saying “We're a split board," Gorin last month. lists, officials noted.

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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020
Toxic gas threatens firefighters
1 hospitalized, 15 tested
for carbon monoxide in
crews battling Glass fire
By KERRY BENEFIELD
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
One firefighter was hospital-
ized and 15 evaluated for carbon
monoxide poisoning Tuesday
when they were potentially ex-
posed to the lethal gas while on
a rest break during the massive
battle against the Glass fire.
The condition of the firefight-
er admitted to the hospital was
SANTA ROSA » NO HALLOWEEN ON MCDONALD AVENUE
Cathy Grace Hayes, left, with friend Ali Quattrocchi, won’t be celebrating Halloween the same way this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus spoils party
While McDonald Avenue is traditionally a popular festive Halloween destination, some residents have chosen not to even decorate this year.
Neighborhood decides to call off Fright Night festivities over health risks
By KAYLEE TORNAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
O
ne of Santa Rosa’s liveli-
est streets on Halloween
night will this year look
comparatively dead, thanks to
COVID-19.
Fright Night festivities on
Santa Rosa’s McDonald Avenue,
including the annual massive
party hosted at the McDonald
Mansion, are among the latest
events to be canceled as the
COVID-19 pandemic drags
‘Sonoma Responds’ to chronicle virus experience
County library project aims
to capture many sides
of residents’ actions
By KAYLEE TORNAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
It might be a recipe for sour-
dough bread. A lesson you
learned. A person you lost.
If it’s an experience or a story
from 2020 that you're willing to
share, Sonoma County Library
The North Coast
not available Tuesday evening.
The 15 other firefighters were
examined at the Cal Fire base
camp in Santa Rosa and re-
leased back to duty on the fire
lines, Cal Fire spokesman Scott
McLean said.
Officials did not disclose the
location of the potential expo-
sure but said it occurred away
from the base camp at the Santa
Rosa Fairgrounds and did not
occur while they were active-
ly fighting fire. The firefight-
ers, who were working 24-hour
shifts, were on a 24-hour rest
period when they were stricken
on. Homeowners on the street
are not preparing to welcome
scores of trick-or-treaters, and
many are even planning to keep
decorations to a minimum to
avoid drawing the usual crowds
of thousands.
"I feel terrible,“ said Cathy
Grace Hayes, who owns the
house across the street from the
mansion. ”But I’m not going to
take the chance.“
Hayes can remember
TURN TO MCDONALD » PAGE A4
wants to hear it.
“We know this whole situation
has impacted people in so many
different ways,” said Joanna Ko-
losov, an archivist on the library
staff leading a new community
memory project called “Sonoma
Responds.”
“We want to capture (stories) for
the historical record so that gener-
ations in the future looking back
on this will be able to see what we
all experienced,” she said.
The project, which opened to
A Place to find home
during their break but were not
in their sleeping quarters, Mc-
Lean said.
“It was their down time,” he
said.
Cal Fire has not released in-
formation on what the firefight-
ers were doing when they fell
ill or where they were. All were
members of a Cal Fire strike
team of engines, but McLean
declined to release where they
came from.
Ambulances lined up at the
Brookwood Avenue entrance to
TURN TO GAS » PAGE A4
PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Amy Loukonen, left, fends off zombies Bryan Grundy and Clay Level
as trick-or-treaters visit the McDonald Mansion in 2016.
submissions last month, aims
to preserve the many sides of
locals’ experiences, from living
through a time of pandemic and
increased unrest around racism
in American society to an explo-
sive wildfire season and a presi-
dential election.
“It’s almost like all these things
have been stacked on top of one
another,” Kolosov said. “That’s
what kind of feels remarkable
about this time and makes this
opportunity of sharing and tell-
Catholic Charities is...
You can change Sarah's life
with your gift today...
SRCHARITIES.ORG/DONATE
A3
American
Medical
Response
personnel
evaluate
possible carbon
monoxide
poisoning of
firefighters
on Tuesday at
the Glass fire
command base
at the Sonoma
County
Fairgrounds in
Santa Rosa.
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
SMART
pursues
bond
funding
Rail agency hopes to
refinance construction
debt by raising $160M
By KEVIN FIXLER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
SMART is set to consider a
plan to refinance tens of mil-
lions of dollars in debt tied to
construction of its initial operat-
ing line by selling up to $160 mil-
lion in bonds, a move that rail
agency officials say could save
them up to $3 million a year.
The plan before the board
of directors Wednesday comes
just seven months after voters
rejected an early sales tax re-
newal that Sonoma-Marin Area
Rail Transit said was needed to
refinance rising debt costs, now
at more than $17 million a year
and soaking up an ever greater
share of the operating budget.
Not counting interest, the
agency has about $137 million
in bond debt from 2011 tied to
building the $653 million system.
Without the long-term tax
extension to borrow against,
SMART was forced to slash
$7 million this spring from its
budget, including cutting some
commuter routes and dropping
all weekend service, while tap-
ping $7 million from its limited
financial reserves.
The agency’s board at that
time also directed staff to ex-
plore refinancing its debt, bor-
rowing against the remaining
nine years of the existing quar-
ter-cent sales tax.
The move comes as SMART
and many other government
agencies dependent on sales
tax revenues are dealing with
TURN TO SMART » PAGE A5
ing stories so important.”
Capturing experiences from
are in touch with La Luz Center
and Los Cien, for example, to
a broad range of people, whose help spread the word to Spanish-
languages, families and back-
grounds represent the diversity
speaking families.
Stories will be accepted in a
of Sonoma County, is a central variety of formats. The library’s
priority, Kolosov said. landing page allows for file up-
“We have an opportunity at loads, including documents,
this moment to make sure that photos and videos. Participants
many, many voices are included can also respond directly to writ-
in this record,” she said. ing prompts in the “Share Your
Partnerships with other com- Story” form.
munity organizations are central
to that effort. Project organizers TURN TO LIBRARY » PAGE A4
- Today’s nonprofit is sponsored by -
TE COM
RA A proud Celebrate
MU
C E LE B
Community Partner
N ITY
AR celebratecommunity.org
TN E R S HI
P
P
A4 NORTH COAST THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020

Authorities: South SR attack

probed as attempted murder
By NASHELLY CHAVEZ
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A shooting on the out-
skirts of south Santa Rosa
early Tuesday is being in-
vestigated as an attempted
murder, authorities said.
The shooting was re-
ported to Sonoma Coun-
ty deputies at 6:04 a.m. at
Moorland Avenue near
West Robles Avenue,
Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Valen-
cia said.
Valencia declined to pro-
vide any information about
who was injured in the
shooting, the extent of in-
juries or who was suspect-
ed in the gunfire. Releasing
that information Tuesday
afternoon, he said, would
jeopardize an investigation
by the violent crimes unit.
He was not aware of any
arrests in the case by Tues-
day afternoon.
The intersection of
Moorland and West Ro-
bles is also home to An-
dy’s Unity Park, where
an 18-year-old man was
wounded by gunfire in
May in what authorities
suspected was a gang-
related shooting. A minor
and two men were arrest-
ed in connection with the
gunfire at the park.

GAS Nearly 2,800 firefighters

from across the state were
battling the 10-day-old
CONNOR JAY / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2013
CONTINUED FROM A3 Glass fire on Tuesday.
Rick and Noreen Carvolth welcome trick-or-treaters for Halloween at their home along McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa. The blaze, which broke
With some homeowners declining even to decorate, the street will look more ghostly this year than ever before. the fairgrounds Tuesday out Sept. 27 on the eastern
morning in response to rim of the Napa Valley,

MCDONALD CONSIDER TRICK-OR-TREAT ALTERNATIVES

CONTINUED FROM A3
Halloween nights at her
McDonald Avenue house
since she was a child. Her
grandparents bought the
home first, and then her
parents owned it, and she
and her husband moved
in in 1994. Every year,
regardless of weather,
Halloween was a bustling,
reliable constant, she said.
This year, she plans
to hang a banner where
Hayes typically would sit
on Halloween night, usu-
ally with one of the guests
she invites over each year
for a small party and to
help pass out candy.
“Happy Halloween!
We’ll see you next year,” it
reads.
Hayes said she’ll probably
recreate some of her usual
festive fall decorations this
year, but on a smaller scale.
Pumpkins will still grace
the steps leading up to the
front porch, but maybe
won’t include her usual
100-pound gourds.
Across the street, the
McDonald Mansion,
owned by John and Jenny
Webley, will also stay shut
for the holiday. A post
from the historic home’s
Facebook page announced Pan, The Wizard of Oz and some have considered di-
“with sadness” that no fes- last year, “Where’s Waldo?” aling it back. In 2017, some tions, even though they
tivities will be held there
this October.
“Given the current fires another homeowner, about the wake of the October
and ongoing pandemic,
there is no way we can
ensure the safety of our
community and children,” including a son and
the post read. “Please take daughter in their teens,
care of yourself and loved typically deck out their
ones, and follow all social
distancing guidelines this
Halloween.”
The annual open-to-the-
public parties hosted by
the Webleys have for years unexpected barks.
been a major draw to the
historic neighborhood.
which caused tens of thou-
sands of Sonoma County
families to evacuate, could
radio reports of a mass
casualty incident. Medical
crews examined the fire-
has destroyed 600 homes
in Sonoma and Napa
counties and threatened
Public health officials from ing to social distance (If you have inspired a similar fighters before they were another 21,000 structures
the county to the federal level prepare bags, wash your hands sentiment. But with transported in ambulances Tuesday even as firefight-
recommend against tradi- with soap and water for at COVID-19 in the mix, resi- to a medical facility else- ers reached the halfway
tional trick-or-treating this least 20 seconds before and dents said they don’t want where at the base camp. point in their battle to
October. The Centers for Dis- after preparing the bags). to contribute to the spread “We have medical staff build containment lines
ease Control and Prevention ■ Having a small, outdoor, by attracting their usual on site, including doc- around the wildfire.
has compiled information on open-air costume parade or number of families. tors and nurses that are Carbon monoxide is
potential alternatives grouped party where people are dis- In 16 years of living on assigned to the incident, an odorless, colorless gas
by their virus transmission tanced more than 6 feet apart the street, Wallace and his that are on this premises, that is produced any time
risk level. (A costume mask should only family have handed out and that is where they are a fossil fuel is burned, ac-
Lower risk activities be used if it is made of two about 4,200 pieces of candy doing those evaluations,” cording to the Centers for
or more layers of breathable on an average Halloween. said Cal Fire spokesman Disease Control.
■ Carving or decorating
fabric that covers the mouth “There are other neigh- Robert Foxworthy. It can cause sudden ill-
pumpkins with members of
and nose and doesn’t leave borhoods where you can The investigation is on- ness and death when in-
your household, or outside, at
get handfuls of candy so going, officials said. haled.
a safe distance, with neighbors gaps around the face. Do not
wear a costume mask over a I don’t know if that’s the
or friends
protective cloth mask because draw,” he said. “I think it’s
Decorating your home it can be dangerous if the everything else.”
■ Doing a Halloween scaven- costume mask makes it hard
ger hunt: Give children a list of to breathe).
Halloween-themed things to ■ Visiting pumpkin patches
The Victorian-style
houses, many of them
built more than 100 years
LIBRARY such as this year’s.
That archive aggregat-
ed stories published on
find while they walk outdoors, or orchards where people use ago, dazzle the eye even CONTINUED FROM A3 other websites, including
looking at Halloween decora- when not decked out in newspaper articles, blogs
hand-sanitizer before touching
tions from a safe distance spooky decorations. It’s a The prompts ask writ- and videos and maps docu-
pumpkins or picking apples,
■ Having a virtual Halloween wearing masks is encouraged popular area for people to ers to describe how they menting the spread of the
costume contest walk in — and it’s partly have changed during the fires and their aftermath.
or enforced, and people
for those people that Jen- pandemic, or what advice Sonoma Responds will
■ Having a Halloween movie are able to maintain social nifer Yang said her family they would give their past include a similar archive,
night with people you live distancing
will also be decorating selves. An early response but will also wrap in more
with ■ Having an outdoor Hallow- their home this year, even from a community mem- varied elements created by
Moderate risk activities een movie night with local a little early. ber resonated with Kolos- community members spe-
family friends with people They often go with ov: “It’s going to be a long cifically for the project.
■ Placing individually
spaced at least 6 feet apart (If an Alice in Wonderland ride. Settle in.” “We really wanted peo-
wrapped goodie bags outside
screaming will likely occur, theme, she said, including “I don’t know why, that ple to tell their own sto-
of the home for families to
greater distancing is advised) placing characters’ silhou- just hit me,” she said. ries in their own voices,”
grab and go while continu-
ettes in the bay windows “It’s good advice.” Kolosov said.
overlooking the front yard. It won’t be long before While library branches
Each year features a differ- Halloweens, Wallace said, Yang hopes that passers- early submissions to the are open only for curbside
ent theme, including Peter this isn’t the first year that by will find some spirit of project begin showing up pickup and drop-off, Ko-
Halloween in the decora- on the webpage that Sono- losov said she and her fel-
ma County Library has low project managers are
“It’s just kinda the residents talked about won’t be answering their created to showcase the exploring the possibility of
pits,” said Wally Wallace, taking a year off. But in door. She and her husband Sonoma Responds stories. leaving print copies of the
have two young children, The library also plans to writing prompts at those
the canceled festivities this firestorm that ripped as well, who are going to circulate examples on its counters. That would en-
year. through Sonoma County expect some sort of activi- social media accounts to able community members
He and his family, three weeks before Hallow- ties related to the holiday drum up more stories. without internet access to
een, he said, Wallace and “It’s such a fun experi- Sonoma Responds isn’t also participate in sharing
his neighbors couldn’t ence on McDonald Ave- a wholly unique effort by their stories.
bring themselves to not go nue,” she said. “It’s just the county library system. Library staff have not set
Victorian-style home with all-out as before. different this year. It is a The History & Genealogy a deadline for submissions
everything from skeletons “It’s almost like a rite of bittersweet time of year.” Library, for example, is to be accepted, Kolosov
illuminated by orange passage for being a kid,” continuously collecting said, though the focus of
lights to a werewolf that he said. “We said, ’We can’t You can reach Staff Writer materials on local histo- the project is stories from
can startle visitors with take a break, we gotta have Kaylee Tornay at 707-521- ry. And an online archive 2020. Questions about the
a safe environment for 5250 or kaylee.tornay@ of materials related to the project can be directed to
Though the neighbors them.’ ” pressdemocrat.com. On 2017 wildfires planted the sonomaresponds@sonom-
always enjoy their epic The wildfires of 2020, Twitter @ka_tornay. seeds for a larger project, alibrary.org

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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 A5

PARKS Parker readily admits

CONTINUED FROM A1
during the firefight.
Maria Mowrey, Califor-
nia State Parks superin-
tendent for the Bay Area
district, said she hopes to
reopen Sugarloaf Ridge
State Park within a matter
of weeks once the fire ac-
tivity is fully contained or
only active in an area far
from parklands. Mowrey
said she has not received
an assessment of the dam-
age but has been told the
fire’s greatest damage was
in backcountry areas.
“The land is scarred. I’m
worried about landslides,
mudslides,” Mowrey said.
”But fire is natural, you
want it to burn.“
These parklands were
also hit during the 2017
firestorm when fingers
of the Nuns fire burned
in from both the south-
east and the southwest.
The landscape and forests
were nearly three years
into recovery, offering a
glimpse into the resilien-
cy of native ecosystems
and the stunning wild-
flowers that follow fire in
the spring.
“What we learned in 2017
is that once the rains hit,
these burned stumps start-
ed to sprout, grasses start-
ed to come up and then
the first flowers bloomed,”
Parker said. “I think it
helps people feel the resil-
ience in the earth and feel
hopeful.”
The Glass fire made its
fierce entry into the Sono-
ma Valley the night of Sept.
27, burning across Mount
Hood and down Los Ala-
mos Road about 15 hours
after the fire first erupted
across the Napa Valley on
that Hood Mountain is her
favorite of the county’s
regional parks because
hiking its trails and ridges
"you truly get a wilderness
feel.“
The park is also incredi-
bly diverse biologically and
contains the headwaters of
Santa Rosa Creek, she said.
After the 2017 fires, the
parklands “did a remark-
able job recovering on
their own,“ Parker said.
Even earth exposed by
bulldozers and delicate
Sargent’s cypress serpen-
tine habitat burned by fire
have rebounded with little
intervention.
”We were at the ready to
replant,“ Parker said. ”We
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
didn’t have to because na-
ture had a plan.“
A PG&E crew works to install a new power pole, to replace one burned down during the Monday, firefighters
Glass fire, near the Gray Pine Trail on Monday in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. from Los Angeles City used
an eastern flank of Howell more were saved. A final will help speed up reopen- axes and hoses to root out
Mountain. tally is pending. ing plans. “But it’s in the and extinguish smoldering
One week into the fire- “We gave it all we had to state’s hands.” areas of fire along the Pony
fight, Sugarloaf and Adobe keep it in Adobe Canyon The timeline is likely Gate Trail near Sugarloaf’s
Canyon held a critical and and Sugarloaf,” Nicholls longer for Hood Mountain entrance. Across the road,
difficult southern edge of said. Regional Park, a 2,000-acre the forest appears totally
the Glass fire. The campground and preserve with a grueling untouched by fire along a
Cal Fire Division Chief Robert Ferguson Observa- hike up to Gunsight Rock, trail to a portion of Sono-
Ben Nicholls said that line tory were spared from the its payoff offering stun- ma Creek that in winter
of the fire aligned with the fire, but the historic 1906 ning views across the vine- becomes a cascading wa-
prevailing northwestern Old Red Barn at the top of yard-lined Sonoma Valley terfall.
winds, drawing concerns High Ridge trail was lost to Bennett Peak and Sono- Eastward at higher el-
the wind might send ag- to flames, park manager ma Mountain. evations of the park on
gressive flames into in- John Roney said. Parker said she believes the Gray Pine trail, PG&E
credibly steep, forested The hills around the visi- they lost some utility build- crews replaced a power
Adobe Canyon. If the blaze tors center were blackened ings, such as a sign-making pole. A Cal Fire contractor
blasted into the canyon it mostly by defensive back- shop, but county staff have maneuvered an excavator
would be difficult to con- fires lit to clear out fuels not been able to “get eyes to grab huge piles of fall-
tain, funneling fire straight and prevent hot uncon- on the park yet” because en debris and cover bare
toward Kenwood and south trolled fire from encroach- significant hazards re- earth. A state parks staff-
to Trinity Road. ing on the park’s most vis- main heading to the main er hauled absorbent straw
That worst-case scenar- ited areas, Roney said. entrance on Los Alamos wattles to shore up scarred
io didn’t happen. Fire did The 4,900-acre park is Road. areas before the rains ex-
burn down to the canyon operated by the nonprofit The work ahead involves pected Friday.
floor and creek in some ar- Sonoma Ecology Center preparing for winter. Bare Where it is beneficial,
eas, but at a slow pace and but state parks officials will and burned earth washes the fire will have reduced
with low intensity that fire- have the final say for when away readily with rain, the number of living Doug-
fighters managed to con- it can allow visitors again. clogging culverts, over- las fir trees that have over
tain, Nicholls said. Some “Most of the hot fire taking roads and creating decades crowded out the
homes in the canyon were was up in remote areas,” other dangers like falling native hardwoods, said
lost in the fire but many said Roney, indicating that trees. Jason Mills, restoration
and fire ecologist with the
Sonoma Ecology Center.
When those firs were
hit in the 2017 fires “that
allowed our hardwood for-
est of oak and madrone to
flourish,” Mills said.
Mills said he believes the
fire was hottest and most
damaging in the 1,400-acre
McCormick addition to the
park north of Hood Moun-
tain.
It was in that addition on
a small hill off Headwaters
Trail where an October
windstorm last year — the
same one that fanned the
Kincade fire — knocked
over a centuries-old live
oak tree known as the
Grandmother Oak. Its de-
composing branches were
likely in the path of a hot
and ferocious front of
the Glass fire as it moved
through.
Mills said he is eager to
explore Sugarloaf, where
he hopes to find a mosaic
of burned areas and green
islands, but he knows some
areas will require remedia-
tion. Sonoma Ecology Cen-
ter will enlist volunteers
to help remove invasive
species such as the yellow
star-thistle and Armenian
blackberry that may reap-
pear in burned areas, some
carried into pristine areas
on firefighting equipment,
Mills said.
Spring will bring a daz-
zling array of annual and
ephemeral native wild-
flowers, covering meadows
with wild morning glories,
bush poppies and native
bulbs safe under the earth
as fire burned over like
Mariposa lilies.
“Those are quick to move
in after fire, and they are
just gorgeous,” Mills said.
“They cover the chaparral
while it’s starting to root,
sprout and come back.”

SMART JOIN SMART BOARD

CONTINUED FROM A3
added budget volatility
amid the coronavirus re-
cession. Public transit op-
erators have been hit two-
fold, seeing sharp ridership
declines and resulting
drops in fare box income.
The silver lining, if there
is one for SMART, is that
rock bottom interest rates
make it less expensive to
borrow money — or refi-
nance existing debt.
“We’re trying to make
lemonade out of lem-
ons,” said Erin McGrath,
SMART’s chief financial
officer. “In the time of
COVID, it’s one of the few
things we can move for-
ward to manage what is an
unmanageable pandemic.”
She said the projected an-
nual savings from the plan
MEETING ON ZOOM
What: SMART board of
directors virtual meeting
When: 1:30 p.m. today
Information: To attend
the Zoom meeting, visit
https://bit.ly/36B3Utb
year’s $17  million-plus
bond payment is about
45% of projected sales tax
revenues, and the payment
is set to reach $22  million
in 2028, the year before the
debt must be paid in full.
The savings from a new
bond sale would come from
the difference in interest
rates paid by SMART. The
existing bonds carry rates
of 5%. The new bonds are
estimated to carry rates of
1.84%, according SMART.
SMART will seek up to $160
million to pay off the prin-
a favorable bond market,
signaling that they would
jump at the chance to lower
Marin, have backgrounds
in finance.
The citizen group did not
annual debt payments. make a formal recommen-
“I think it’s really key dation whether the SMART
right now,” said Novato board should pursue the
Councilman Eric Lucan, sale of new bonds to refi-
SMART’s board chairman. nance old debt, and an up-
“With everything we’re date on the plan with new
facing with COVID and try- record-low interest rates
ing to continue to provide a has yet to come back to the
great service to Marin and seven-member committee.
Sonoma, it offers lot more But David Oster, a member
flexibility, and flexibility of the committee and retired
over time.” attorney who specialized in
In April, the post-elec- bond law, said refinancing
tion refinancing concept the debt now appeared to be
came before SMART’s Citi- a shrewd decision.
zens Oversight Committee, “I think that this is a good Up to 20% OFF Air Scrubbers
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was only about a quarter of
the figure that SMART had
hoped to save yearly from
a wider refinancing move
that would have been tied
to the tax renewal.
“But if you told me a
year ago we could save
$3 million, I’d have said it’s
not going to happen,” Mc-
Grath said.
The 2011 bond sale of
$190 million helped give
SMART money up front to
speed its rail construction.
But rising annual debt
payments in recent
years have eaten into its
operating budget. This
ciple and interest due on
the existing bonds through
March 2022.
The sale costs, includ-
ing transaction fees and a
contract with San Francis-
co-based consulting firm
Public Financial Manage-
ment to guide the process,
are estimated at $658,000.
Refinancing now, rather
than after SMART takes
another run at a sales tax
extension, gives it a short-
er period in which to repay
any new bonds.
Still, board members said
Tuesday they didn’t see a
significant downside amid
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Phone: (707) 578-5777 Phone: (707) 206-9400 Phone: (707) 823-0111 purchase. Additional exclusions may apply. Void where prohibited.