As art venues and galleries work to minimize damage done to their collections, some families are forced to make the decision to leave behind beloved family heirlooms, artifacts, and symbols of lives gone by.
For one Santa Rosa man, that meant leaving behind his late wife's artwork. The Chronicle shared the story of Andy Luttringer, who evacuated his home after having lived there for 19 years. The fire passed right through the area, leaving behind nothing but ash. Amongst the destruction were pieces of art — watercolors, acrylics — created by Luttringer's wife, who passed away from cancer. Luttringer told the Chron, "I’m really mad at myself. I could have grabbed a couple of her pieces. The rest of the stuff I couldn’t care less about." Still, he was at least able to save one piece as they left their home.
Art venues and galleries are experiencing much of the same worry, as well. In another report, the Chronicle says that the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts saw major damage to some of their satellite buildings, but no damage on their main center, at least "as far as we know," according to the center's spokesperson, Julie Richter. The Charles M. Schulz Museum is without power, but otherwise undamaged as of yesterday morning. The museum's marketing director, Tracey Pugh, said, "The fire is close by but the Museum is safe as of right now."
A few neighboring venues have opened themselves up as temporary shelter for people evacuating from the fire. The Mystic Theatre in Petaluma is one of those venues, according to the Chron, who spoke with the talent buyer for the theater, Thomas Cussins. The Phoenix Theater, also in Petaluma, is offering shelter as well. The Chron spoke with Tom Gaffey, who said, "It looks like we may be putting a few friends up in the theater until they can go back home, but right now we are still good with our weekend schedule. I have a feeling we will be doing a bunch of benefits soon."
The Chronicle has the full story on many of the venues in the North Bay, and the vast majority — if not all — of them report minimal damage and fully-evacuated staff.
