California Firefighters Battle Warehouse Blaze

The Barlow, a former apple cannery in Sebastopol being transformed into a hub for local wineries, food producers and artists, was engulfed in flames Friday morning.

The blaze was reported at 9:17 a.m. at 200 Morris St., just north of Highway 12 on the eastern edge of the city.

The 215,000-square-foot complex is in the middle of a $23.5 million overhaul by developer Barney Aldridge to turn the warehouse complex into an upscale cluster of retail shops and production spaces.

The flames appeared to be contained to the southernmost half of the complex, a space of about 10,000 square feet, according to project officials. Exterior metal walls in the building collapsed and fell inward in the blaze. A large black plume of smoke was visible from Santa Rosa, seven miles away.

Aldridge, the project developer, said the building affected by the fire was to be used for the project, with tenants to include Community Market, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit organic food store. He said it was a complete loss but expressed relief that no one appeared to have been hurt in the fire.

"That's the important thing," he said.

Several blocks of Highway 12 west of Morris Street were closed for more than an hour, with traffic being diverted through the area. Authorities reopened the road just after 11 a.m.

"I was just working and all of a sudden everything got dark," said Andrew Poindexter, 20, an employee of the Sebastopol Cookie Company, located several blocks away.

Ron Roysum, a Barlow project supervisor, said the initial flames were started by sparks caused by a construction worker or workers cutting rebar near the warehouse on Friday.

Clothing stored inside the structure appeared to be fueling the blaze, fire officials said. Roysum, the project supervisor, confirmed that the clothing belonged to Aubergine, a downtown vintage clothes retailer and cafe.

Sebastopol fire officials said they did not yet have a cause for the blaze.

Firefighters from at least four departments, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Gold Ridge and Graton, were on scene, with multiple water cannons aimed into the building.

Firefighters and construction workers scrambled to prevent the large volume of water running off the site from reaching the nearby Laguna de Santa Rosa, the large wetland that extends from Cotati to Forestville.

The Barlow project was designed to connect customers not only with products and the people who make them, but also with the production itself. Anchor tenants include Kosta Browne Winery, Guayaki Yerba Mate, Taylor Maid Farms coffee and Community Market.

Construction began in December and was slated to be completed in July or August.

Tony Lombardi, director of brand management and public relations at Kosta Browne Winery, said the company's future space -- on the end of the complex -- did not appear to be affected by the blaze. The winery plans to occupy about a fourth of the project site, or 40,000 square feet, with barrel storage, wine making and office space.

Lombardi said construction was still in the early stage, with foundation, stem walls and beams for the space just starting to go up.

The first move-in stage is set for August, with completion by the end of the year, he said.

Copyright 2012 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service