09/22/2026
Sally and Mike Gale’s historic home was protected from Sunday’s fast-moving Chileno Valley fire thanks to the efforts of firefighters and neighbors, who rushed to the scene with hoses, trucks and water tanks.
Flames came within 100 feet of their Italianate Victorian house, which dates back to the 1880s. Some pastures are blackened. Posts and fences are burned, and will need replacing. Cattle are being moved for safety.
Laguna Lake and its adjacent woodlands, home to newts and other special species, did not burn.
On the road by the Gale’s ranch, there is evidence of several attempted ignitions, which they believe were set by an arsonist.
“Had he not run out of propellant at my place, he would have continued down to the forested area,” said Sally.
CalFire and Marin County Fire Department are now conducting an investigation. The fire is believed to have ignited - nearly simultaneously - at several different locations along the northwest stretch of Chileno Valley Road, towards Tomales.
“It seems like a car was driving along and throwing stuff out of the car,” she said.
Propelled by wind, the blaze took off in the fields of the Goldbeck family’s J.G. Angus Ranch and spread to the Gale Ranch, climbing up the ridge line over the valley, ultimately consuming about 350 acres.
Its spread was slowed in areas that are heavily grazed, because there is little fuel, said Sally..
She was resting after a busy U-Pick day in their orchards when Mike ran into the house, saying “Get up! There’s a fire!” Mike discovered it near their greenhouse, where he had gone to get plants, then saw large plumes of smoke.
Sally hooked up some hoses in the corral area and wetted the ground. Then neighbors arrived to help. Jason Dolcini brought his small tractor; the Bentley family came with a small water tank, pulled by a truck, equipped with hoses.
With firefighters, they stayed for hours, putting out small flames near the Gale home.
“I was an emotional wreck, of course,” Sally said. “But I was so touch by the help of neighbors. And I was overwhelmed by the professionalism and kindness of firefighters.”
