Wind-fueled Deer Park fire nearly contained

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

Fire crews from throughout Northern California were expected to spend Saturday night Upvalley containing a fire that started Friday afternoon when, according to CalFire, a truck ran off Deer Park Road and struck a stone, sparking the blaze.

As of Saturday afternoon, CalFire reported 300 acres of land have been burned between Deer Park and Angwin, fueled by gust winds traveling up to 20 miles per hour and dry-weather conditions. As of 8 p.m., the Deer Fire was 80 percent contained, CalFire reported. The fire was expected to be fully contained today.

An estimated 1,500 firefighters from throughout Northern California were on scene Saturday, as CalFire inmate fire crews and firefighters created fire lines to keep the fire north of Mund Road and west of Howell Mountain Road.

One prison inmate serving with fire crews injured his hand Friday night and was treated at St. Helena Hospital, St. Helena Fire Chief Kevin Twohey said.

Calfire and private helicopters contracted by the state continuously dropped water on hotspots south of Crestmont Drive as firefighters protected evacuated homes.

“We’re here to make sure the fire stops where it’s at,” said CalFire Battalion Chief Jim Wattenburger of Mendocino.

PG&E reported at noon Saturday that 900 customers were without power. In the afternoon, PG&E crews were replacing power lines along Deer Park Road.

About 100 residents, who were evacuated Friday evening by the Napa County Sheriff’s Department, began to slowly return to their homes.

The Deer Fire destroyed the house and a workshop of Jimmy and Darlene McDannald off Deer Park Road.

Jimmy McDannald, a retired truck mechanic, said he was home alone chipping wood in the yard before he decided to head to Angwin’s College Mercantile store a little before the store closed for the Sabbath.

McDannald estimated he was gone only 15 minutes, when the fire spread through his 10 acres, torching the redwood house he built 38 years ago. The blaze also destroyed an outside shed, where McDannald kept a collection of antique motorcycles.

The 83-year-old retired mechanic, who planed to race his Greeves motorcycle this weekend, could only watch as the fire consumed his 10 acres.

He then headed for the St. Helena High School, where the American Red Cross had opened a shelter, when a friend invited him to spend the night in Calistoga.

On Saturday, as he and his wife watched the moonscape where their home stood, McDannald felt lucky.

His wood chipper is very noisy, he said. Had he stayed home, he added, he would not have heard the fast-moving fire move uphill.

“I would have had to run for my life,” McDannald said. “Maybe the Good Lord had a plan for me,” he added.

McDannald, who was born at nearby St. Helena Hospital, said he and his wife want to rebuild their house. In the meantime, they may live in Lodi, where Darlene owns a mobile home.

Meg and Emanuel “Manny” Scrofani were baby-sitting granddaughters in Sacramento when the fire broke. Their Crestmont Drive neighborhood was among those evacuated Friday.

The Scrofanis, who returned to Napa County Friday, stayed with friends near Meadowood Resort.

On Saturday, firefighters from the city of Oakland greeted them when they returned to their home on a property overlooking the Napa Valley.

The firefighters said they were impressed by the defensible space created around the neighborhood over the years.

“It makes our job easy,” Oakland Fire Lt. Jamie Bowron said.

An appreciative “Manny” Scrofani, a former St. Helena School district superintendent, invited the men to come back for a visit as the men climbed back in their engine parked in the cul-de-sac driveway.

Meg Scrofani was also grateful to the firefighters.

“It really puts life in perspective,” said Scrofani, a former Bel Aire Park Elementary School principal.

CalFire Battalion Chief David Shew said Saturday morning that Friday’s strong winds pushed the fire south. The winds Friday afternoon died down during the cold evening,

“That helped us,” he said. “We are in much better shape this morning than we thought we would be,” he said early Saturday morning.

But firefighters stayed cautious, as increased winds returning in the evening remain a possiblity.

Napa County Sheriff Capt. John Robertson said Deer Park Road could reopen Saturday evening.

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