Armstrong Woods, Austin Creek reserve on the road to recovery nearly 2 years after Walbridge fire
The Walbridge fire started in densely forested country just outside the Austin Creek reserve. It started from a dry lightning storm Aug. 16 or 17 — the day it was discovered — spawning flames that roared through the steeply cut, rural landscape between Cazadero and Healdsburg. It burned for most of seven weeks, razing 156 homes and blackening 55,209 acres. But many were riveted by news of its entry into the beloved park near the Russian River town of Guerneville, where between 700,000 and a million visitors a year flock to see ancient coast redwood trees — some well over 1,000 years old.