Gold Ridge Fire Protection District eyeing expansion to include Monte Rio, Sebastopol firehouses

The Gold Ridge Fire Protection District, Sonoma County’s third largest fire district, is poised to grow again as it readies to add the Monte Rio Fire Protection District and the Sebastopol Fire Department into its territory.

The additions, which are expected to finalize in spring or summer 2025, follow the merger of seven other volunteer fire districts that fan across the coastal and western parts of the county.

Currently, the Gold Ridge district covers roughly 226 square miles of unincorporated, rural Sonoma County. The addition of the two departments would make Gold Ridge the second largest district in the county, surpassing the Sonoma County Fire District in coverage area by about 25 square miles.

Under the proposal, Monte Rio and Sebastopol would be two of 12 fire stations in the Gold Ridge district, which already has 20-full time firefighters, three battalion chiefs, two division chiefs, a fire chief, three administrative staff and about 180 volunteers.

The consolidations, at least two years in the making, would offer Gold Ridge a near-contiguous district, which starts at Lakeville Highway, slingshots west outside Petaluma and hopscotches through the Bodega Highway corridor before landing in the lower Russian River.

The push for merging with Monte Rio began after Gold Ridge acquired CSA 40, seven all-volunteer districts including Two Rock, Valley Ford, Wilmar, Bodega, Lakeville, Camp Meeker and Fort Ross.

“Monte Rio is another puzzle piece that makes sense,” said Gold Ridge Fire Protection District Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary.

The Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission is expected to meet in the next month or two to approve the consolidation. That commission is responsible for regulating special districts and their boundaries and, in the case of fire districts, gives the final say for district mergers.

Mark Bramfitt, the commission’s top executive, said the process has been stalled as he waits on data to finish a report that will be presented to the commission. He believes the entire process, which includes an opportunity for members of the public to protest by mail, should likely be complete in eight to 12 months.

“And then, Monte Rio Fire District would dissolve and Sebastopol would give up its fire department,” Bramfitt said.

There is good reason to think the consolidations will forge ahead: They are among a consolidation effort requested by Sonoma County officials in 2022 to reduce the number of fire districts in the county, while aiming to make fire service and response more effective.

‘Depth with service’

The Monte Rio Fire Protection District is one of three volunteer departments in the lower Russian River that still operates independently. Timber Cove Fire, whose chief Erich Lynn just retired, and Cazadero Fire, are also independent volunteer departments.

The move to consolidate isn’t an effort to eat up volunteer departments, Schroth-Cary said. Rather, the move has to make sense financially and operationally.

“We look at a district and analyze it and if it makes sense, we will move forward with the process,” Schroth-Cary said.

The effort is a relief to Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman, who is currently responding to calls, cane in hand, as he recovers from spinal surgery after breaking his back in late June.

Baxman said that before Sonoma County voters passed Measure H, which is expected to generate $62 million for local fire districts, the merger was necessary for the west county district to survive. However, the new funding will nearly double the district’s $1.1 million budget, giving the district the chance to bring on more paid crew members, add a new fire engine to its line and begin constructing a much needed new firehouse.

Monte Rio currently employs three paid employees and offers “a handful of stipends,” Baxman said. More than a dozen volunteers round out its ranks.

Baxman says the merger is still necessary, as partnering with a large district like Gold Ridge will offer Monte Rio “depth like we’ve never had and better opportunity for advancement.”

“Do we want to stand alone or do we want to be bigger?” Baxman said.

Baxman notes that services “really won’t be different. It’ll be the same staffing and the same response.”

He said the merger would likely allow the Monte Rio fire station to offer fire inspection services, which could prove to be a vital fire prevention tool to the densely wooded community.

“We already provide a pretty good level of service. Now it’s depth with service,” Baxman said.

A lifeline for Sebastopol

For Sebastopol, the merger with Gold Ridge would serve as a lifeline for the struggling, 122-year-old volunteer department, even with forthcoming Measure H funds.

The department formed in 1902 and currently handles about 1,400 calls for service a year, but has suffered from dwindling volunteer recruitment, slow response times and budget cuts in a city facing a $2.9 million deficit.

Schroth-Cary says the merger makes perfect sense for both the city and Gold Ridge.

“Sebastopol is our neighbor and there are real obvious reasons for consolidating,” Schroth-Cary said.

Under the consolidation, the department wouldn’t disappear entirely; Sebastopol’s crew would retain current ranks and volunteers would still be needed to run the firehouse.

But it wouldn’t be without struggles. Many within the volunteer department have voiced opposition to the consolidation, saying they would be better off with the additional Measure H funds that will pour into the city.

“It’s a big thing for this community to accept,” Bramfitt said, adding that the City Council and Gold Ridge are taking a risk that current firefighters in Sebastopol could leave once the merger is finalized.

“I think that’s what scares people in Sebastopol,” Bramfitt said. “Do all the volunteers quit? Because they fear if it does, what will happen then?”

Sebastopol’s City Council is set to discuss the draft annexation schedule during its next council meeting on Tuesday, July 19.

Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.