Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
State Says Seniors Abandoned in California Wildfire
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 7, 2018

Share

SACRAMENTO — Staff at two senior care centers abandoned residents during an evacuation as wildfires swept through Northern California last October, state officials said Thursday as they moved to revoke licenses from the Santa Rosa facilities and their top administrators. Nobody in either facility died.

“We voluntarily began evacuating residents after we were repeatedly unable to reach emergency authorities on clogged 911 phone lines.” — Oakmont Senior Living owner 
A Department of Social Services complaint says more than 20 people would have died when a dementia facility burned to the ground if family members and emergency responders hadn’t evacuated them after all staff left. The investigation says night staff members at Villa Capri were not trained in emergency procedures and had never practiced a fire drill. They could not find keys to a bus that could have sped evacuations.
At least three residents were never evacuated from another facility, Varenna, and workers who found them the next morning lied about it, the investigation found.
Both care centers are owned by Oakmont Senior Living, which called the allegations unfounded.
The night of the fire, “we voluntarily began evacuating residents after we were repeatedly unable to reach emergency authorities on clogged 911 phone lines. We never received an official evacuation order from emergency authorities,” the owner said in a statement. “All 418 residents were safely evacuated,” Oakmont added.

Company Has 15 Days to Appeal and Request a Hearing

Oakmont owns 25 senior centers in California and one in Las Vegas. The company has 15 days to appeal and request a hearing before an administrative law judge, said Michael Weston, a spokesman for the state Department of Social Services.
The state’s complaint conveys a chaotic scene as flames swept into Santa Rosa overnight on Oct. 8 and 9. The blaze, known as the Tubbs Fire, ultimately destroyed thousands of homes in Santa Rosa and killed dozens of people, part of a firestorm that left a trail of destruction across Northern California wine country.
At Villa Capri, home to 62 elderly and disabled residents including 25 in the dementia unit, the night supervisor did not know evacuation plans or where to find flashlights and batteries, the report said. One on-duty staff member spent an hour unsuccessfully searching for vehicle keys, according to the complaint.
When the power went out at about 11:30 p.m., disabling electronic locks that keep patients with dementia from leaving, the facility administrator, who was not there, instructed staff to guard the exit doors, preventing them from caring for residents, the state alleges. But the administrator, Deborah Smith, did not go to the facility, according to the state’s complaint.
Between 3 and 3:30 a.m., the night supervisor left as a passenger in a vehicle taking residents to an evacuation center, followed by the two remaining staff members who evacuated about six residents, according to the complaint.

Relatives of Residents Arrived and Helped

After staff left, relatives of residents arrived and helped non-mobile residents “who were left stranded on the second floor.” Emergency responders eventually arrived to help.
At Varenna, which houses 228 residents, administrator Nathan Condie directed staff members who had been evacuating residents to return them to their rooms, the complaint alleges.
“Nathan Condie stated that he did not want to cause issues or make trouble for (Oakmont),” the complaint says.
He left with “a small number of residents in his personal car” at about 3:30 a.m., the complaint alleges, followed later by remaining staff members, leaving about 70 residents behind.
The grandson of one resident arrived at 4 a.m. and found his grandfather had left.
“He was besieged by questions about what to do and became aware that there were many residents in the darkened, smoky building who needed help,” the complaint says. He ran door to door to awaken residents, help them into the lobby, and started a list of names as he stayed for three hours to help people evacuate.
Smith and Condie could not be reached for comment. The state is seeking to ban them for life from owning or working in licensed care facilities.

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Xavier Becerra Enters 2026 California Governor’s Race

UP NEXT

Inside a $17 Billion Maintenance Backlog Plaguing California’s Universities

UP NEXT

California Lawmakers Reject Bills to Restrict Transgender Youth in School Sports

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

UP NEXT

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

17 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

18 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

18 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

18 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

18 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

19 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

19 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

19 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

19 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

19 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

12 hours ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
12 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

16 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

17 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
17 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

18 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

18 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

18 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

18 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend