Oakmont Senior Living and California’s Department of Social Services have reached a settlement agreement over allegations that some residents were not evacuated from two communities during a massive wildfire last year.
The state had petitioned to remove the licenses from Oakmont’s Varenna and Villa Capri, along with the licenses for the sites’ executive directors. The settlement brings a two-year probationary period for the facilities and administrators.
The Tubbs Fire in October 2017 required Villa Capri and Varenna, both in Santa Rosa, CA, to evacuate. But Oakmont officials admitted in the settlement that staff left the facilities without all the residents being evacuated. Staff said they could not return to the campuses after taking some residents to evacuation sites, ABC News 7 reported last week, echoing previous media reports.
The remaining residents depended on family members and emergency responders for evacuation, the station reported.
The settlement allows Varenna and Villa Capri to stay open for the next two years under strict supervision and compliance with regulations. Oakmont Senior Living also has 60 days to submit to DSS updated emergency disaster plans for Villa Capri and Varenna, must ensure there are enough staff members overnight and must conduct annual evacuation drills.
The executive directors also agreed to undergo at least 40 hours of training from local emergency services providers.
Oakmont has faced a series of legal actions since the fire, settling one lawsuit under confidential terms involving 17 residents in August. The Tubbs Fire was the state’s most destructive wildfire in its history until the Camp Fire earlier this month. Oakmont at Villa Capri is scheduled to reopen in 2019.
