While emerald green still dominates the undulating hills, the lush seasonal illusion hides a serious issue. The  reservoirs providing much of the water to Sonoma County are at historic lows.

LakeSonoma is holding just two thirds of what’s typical for mid-April. Lake Mendocino has less than half. Locally, the current drought is worse than any year in living memory or in the books.

Peter Martin is deputy director of water resources for Santa Rosa Water. He will help present a report to the Santa Rosa city council Tuesday, and he says conditions now are worse than, “The driest, single year on record, right now, which was 1976-1977.”    

Although Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County, have a lot more people than 45 years ago during the worst drought, conservation efforts have paid off.

 “We have actually been able to offset much of the population expansion and demand in the city through water use efficiency programs and of course smarter building as time goes on.”

Next month Sonoma Water is expected to request permission from state officials to reduce releases into the Russian River south of Healdsburg. That could harm endangered fish and other species, though officials may have few other options.

The last time that happened recreational fishing was halted entirely to reduce strain on fish. 

Jennifer Burke, the agency’s director, predicts restrictions on water use could come as soon as June or July.

By Marc Albert

Pacific Gas & Electric faces five new felony and 28 misdemeanor charges related to the Kincade Fire. Sonoma County authorities Tuesday filed suit against the utility over widespread devastation caused by the 2019 fire.

The company stands accused of recklessness, negligence, failure to maintain its equipment or comply with regulators over its role in the massive blaze.

According to Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch's office, CalFire traced the fire's start to equipment on a PG&E transmission line near The Geysers that failed in high winds, ultimately shooting molten metal into dry vegetation. 

The fire ignited on the night of October 23rd 2019, sparking the evacuation of all residents of Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor. Ultimately, four people were hurt, including a firefighter who suffered severe injuries. The Kinca Fire destroyed 374 structures and damaged a further 60.

Felony charges include: causing great bodily injury, recklessly causing fire to inhabited structures and forests and widespread damage to air quality due to wildfire smoke.

A CalFire investigation submitted last July determined PG&E responsible.

Ravitch's office says investigators interviewed dozens of additional witnesses in a follow up investigation, and obtained hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. Ravitch was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

PG&E says the utility committed no crime, and is disputing the charges.

An initial hearing is scheduled for April 20th at the Sonoma County Superior Court.

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