IMPROVING OPEN SPACE » Workers
with LandPaths helping to clear
invasive firs in Occidental area. A3
SR: PG&E lines sparked blazes
OCTOBER FIRES » Winds
caused arcing, 2 homes
burned in SR, officials say
By JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Santa Rosa city fire investi-
gators have determined that
PG&E power lines buffeted by
heavy winds the night of Oct. 8
ignited at least two small fires
in city neighborhoods, marking
the first public reports by gov-
Paul Ryan
GOP
defying
federal
authority
Republicans challenged
agencies before, but this
time it’s more expansive
By PHILIP RUCKER
AND ROBERT COSTA
WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Republi-
can leaders’ open defiance last
week of the FBI over the re-
lease of a hotly disputed memo
revealed how the GOP, which
has long positioned itself as the
party of law and order, has be-
come an adversary of federal
law enforcement as the party
continues its quest to protect
President Donald Trump from
the Russia investigation.
The FBI, the Justice Depart-
ment and other agencies are
now under concerted assault by
Republicans, facing allegations
of corruption and conspiracy
that have quickly moved from
the fringes of the right into the
mainstream of the GOP.
Republicans in Congress in-
TURN TO GOP » PAGE A2
GYMNASTS’ ABUSE
27 molested
while FBI
investigated
By DAN BARRY AND
SERGE F. KOVALESKI
NEW YORK TIMES
For more than a year, an FBI in-
quiry into allegations that Larry
Nassar, a respected sports doctor,
had molested three elite teenage
gymnasts followed a plodding
pace as it moved back and forth
among agents in three cities. The
accumulating information in-
cluded instructional videos of the
doctor’s unusual treatment meth-
ods, showing his ungloved hands
working about the private areas
of girls lying facedown on tables.
But as the inquiry moved with
little evident urgency, a cost was
being paid. The New York Times
has identified at least 27 girls and
TURN TO FBI » PAGE A15
Barber C1 Community B10
Business E1 Crossword T6
Classified E5 Forum B11
SUPER BOWL LII » As Patriots and
Eagles face off, many see politics
reflected in matchup, Barber says. C1
ROSELAND ANNEXATION » Upbeat
outlook among business owners
for district folding into SR. E1
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM
ernment authorities into what
caused some of the dozens of
In both cases — a fire that
destroyed two homes on Sul-
A burned utility
pole, at right,
blazes that erupted that night livan Way near Howarth Park stands above
and became the deadliest and
most destructive wildfires in
and another quarter-acre fire
that damaged an outbuilding at
the remains of
a house Friday
California history. a Montessori school on Brush on Sullivan Way
The findings, outlined in Creek Road — investigators with in Santa Rosa.
records obtained by The Press the Santa Rosa Fire Department A city probe
Democrat, focus on two smaller, ruled that strong winds caused has found that
lesser-known fires that burned the PG&E’s power lines to arc, PG&E power
separately from the large blazes throw sparks and set fire to dry lines started
that swept across the North vegetation. two small fires
Bay late Oct 8. and early Oct. 9, “It was determined that the in Santa Rosa.
destroying 6,200 homes and
claiming 40 lives. TURN TO PG&E » PAGE A14 ALVIN JORNADA / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
“I’m just kind of hoping one day I wake up and something big has changed.”
Hurt teen’s inspiring
CARSON PFORSICH, Analy High School senior who became paralyzed after a diving accident at Bodega Bay
journey to recovery
PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
DEALING WITH PARALYSIS: Carson Pforsich, 18, is helped by his mother, Andrea, with his socks while reclining on a bed Jan. 25 at their Sebastopol home in preparation
for physical therapy. He was injured after hitting his head on the ocean floor while diving into a wave in Bodega Bay in September.
Sebastopol’s Pforsich keeping focus on helping his body after spinal injury
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
H
SEBASTOPOL
e can’t get out of bed on
his own, but when Carson
Pforsich awakes each day, he
visualizes sitting up, swinging his
legs to the side and standing.
He’s training his nervous system
to transmit the signal “get up” from
brain to body for the day he hopes to
recover enough mobility to rise on
his own.
Pforsich, 18, lost that ability in
September, when he dove into a
wave and hit the ocean floor in Bode-
ga Bay, severely injuring his spinal
cord and paralyzing him from the
chest down.
In his mind, the Analy High
School senior and former wide COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Surrounded by his friends at the Analy High School library, Carson Pforsich, center, returned
receiver still runs, still catches to school on Jan. 24. He continues to make progress from injuries sustained in the accident.
passes, still climbs out of bed in the
morning. “I’m just kind of hoping one day the kind of experience that takes INSIDE
His daily routine and rigorous I wake up and something big has “life-changing” to a level even his Photo essay looks
physical therapy are his way to con- changed,” Pforsich said during a most supportive classmates could at teen’s life and
front an uncertain future — one he break between classes at Analy, not imagine, Pforsich already has effort to regain
knows will be shaped in part by the where he returned Jan. 9 for the made important strides, gradually strength and
work he does now to build muscle spring semester and is on track to increasing the use of his arms, neck, mobility after
tone, maintain flexibility and restore graduate with his class in June. life-changing
the strength he once possessed. Four and a half months into TURN TO RECOVER » PAGE A13 injury / A12
Golis B1 Nevius C1 112-YEAR HEAT RECORD FALLS: Healdsburg SANTA ROSA ©2018
Lotto A2 Smith A3 shatters all-time high for date as mercury rises High 74, Low 45 The Press
Democrat
Movies D6 TV T7 to 80 while Santa Rosa hits high of 76 / A3 THE WEATHER, C8
A12 THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018

SEBASTOPOL » CARSON PFORSICH

Carson Pforsich, 18, works his hands and fingers in an

effort to maintain mobility and flexibility.

Andrea Pforsich, at right, combs son Carson’s hair at their

home Jan. 25 in Sebastopol as he prepares for a day of
physical therapy for injuries he sustained in a diving

His earnest effort

accident in September at Bodega Bay.

to regain strength

PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Carson Pforsich, 18, a former athlete at Analy High School in Sebastopol, grimaces as he finishes an arm and shoulder workout alongside his father, Andy Pforsich, left, and Paul Comish,
adjunct instructor of the Santa Rosa Junior College Adaptive Physical Education Department, during a physical therapy session Jan. 23 at SRJC’s campus.

Paul Comish, left, adjunct instructor at the Santa Rosa Junior College Adaptive Physical
Education Department, and lab assistant Avery Souza carefully lift Carson into his
wheelchair during a Jan. 23 therapy session under the watchful eye of his father, right.

SRJC lab assistants

manipulate Pforsich feet
in an effort to improve
Andy Pforsich takes his son’s blood pressure during the physical therapy blood circulation to
session at SRJC. Carson’s blood pressure must stay elevated during the his appendages during
workouts to avoid fainting and to improve circulation to his injured spine. his therapy session.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018 A13

PHOTOS BY KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

TAKING A BREAK: Carson Pforsich takes advantage of a break period at Analy High School on Jan. 14. to recline for a couple of minutes in order to take pressure off his spine.

RECOVER Kelsey, the family has formed a

team that makes life work.
The yellow ranch house where
CONTINUED FROM A1 Carson Pforsich sleeps required
relatively few alterations before
shoulders, wrists and hands. He his return home. There’s a seat
has sensation now throughout in the shower and covers on the
his body — even the soles of his thresholds that allow his wheel-
feet, though it’s spotty — and chair to cross. A special lift with
has regained neck and trunk a sling helps his mother move
strength critical to sitting up for him from wheelchair to bed or to
long periods. the therapy table and back.
His legs and his fingers don’t The front room — the “sports
yet cooperate. He’s working lounge” — has been outfitted
every day in hopes they eventu- with a hospital bed and adorned
ally will. with all manner of team posters,
But with his improved endur- pennants and other memorabil-
ance and a power wheelchair, ia. It features a Jacksonville Jag-
Pforsich can now get out in the uars jerseys — Carson Pforsich’s
world, hang with friends and favorite NFL team — and an Ole
cruise campus, manipulating Miss football jersey autographed
the controls on his own with a by alumnus Eli Manning, the
flat hand. New York Giants quarterback,
A key goal is to develop who heard about Pforsich’s ac-
enough strength and control in cident through a mutual friend.
his triceps and hands to transi- There’s a television Pforsich
tion to a more compact, manual HELP FROM DAD: Andy Pforsich hydrates his son, Carson, during a physical therapy session Jan. 23 at Santa Rosa Junior College. can operate on his own and
wheelchair, which would en- new Xbox controller with large
hance his freedom to travel. rises each time, drawing on the seconds, aware his survival and other friends from school buttons and controls he’s still
Since mid-November, when support of family, friends and depended upon someone taking now so familiar with their class- learning to handle.
he completed an intensive, the community in which his notice. Lepori was quickly at mate’s “new normal” that seeing An upholstered mat table
five-week program at a spinal parents, Andrea and Andy Pfor- his side, helping him back to the him in a wheelchair on campus stands ready in an adjoining
cord rehabilitation center in San sich, grew up and raised their beach with the assistance of two is no big deal, Carson Pforsich room. The Pforsichs have been
Jose, Pforsich has been home two children, including Carson’s other friends. said. trying for months to acquire a
at his mother’s house in rural sister, Kelsey, 16. A passing firefighter rendered But he said he was surprised standing frame that will help
Sebastopol and is thrilled to be Sometimes just a visit from aid. The Sonoma County sher- when his parents allowed him their son gain strength and
back among family and friends, a friend or a drive through the iff’s helicopter landed nearby, to transition from independent stamina he will need if he is to
day-in and day-out. countryside buoys him. His and the crew quickly trans- study to classes on campus on stand again.
Rehabilitation, he’s learned, parents, he said, “have been ported the teen to Santa Rosa his own. They have to trust he’ll But overall, said Andrea Pfor-
is a full-time job, and Pforsich really great” about helping him Memorial Hospital. be all right without them, and sich, “We try not to get ahead of
has just enough time to squeeze through darker times. Pforsich had fractured a he convinced them to let him go ourselves.”
in the two classes he needs to “There are days when it gets a vertebra in his neck and badly back alone on the very first day.
graduate, attending high school little tougher, mainly just being bruised his spinal cord, which Window for recovery
three days a week, mostly so he confined into a wheelchair and was kinked and bent in the af- Team of supporters The uncertainties of her son’s
can see his friends. not being able to do everything I termath. But it was neither torn It helps that his economics condition require the whole fam-
Every week also includes want to do,” Pforsich said. “But nor severed, making recovery class is taught by a close family ily to manage their expectations
two to three sessions each of for the most part, I’m doing pret- possible once the swelling fully friend, Joe Ellwood, who is also in manner that will serve them
physical therapy in Santa Rosa, ty good about staying positive abates and the nerves heal. the school athletic director and in both in the short- and the
integrated muscle training at a and keeping that stuff out of my During two weeks in inten- someone with whom Pforsich is long-term. One of the doctors in
local gym, anti-inflammatory head.” sive care at Memorial Hospital, accustomed to daily interaction. San Jose described a three-to-six
laser light therapy in Sonoma But the memories of that surgeons repaired and fused A friend, Josiah Miller, meets month window post-injury that’s
and adapted physical education life-changing day at the Sonoma Pforsich’s spine and stabilized Pforsich after class and accom- proved optimal for recovery in
at Santa Rosa Junior College, a Coast rushed in unexpectedly him medically. From there, he panies him to senior English, other patients, though signifi-
grueling, full-body workout. one day in San Jose, catching was transferred to Santa Clara helping with doors and the ele- cant ability can still be regained
“It gets tiring at times,” Pfor- Pforsich off-guard. Valley Medical Center’s spinal vator and other personal needs long after.
sich said of his regimen, requir- He and his parents were cord rehabilitation unit, where if necessary. The family has heard testimo-
ing both an athlete’s discipline checking out the facility pool in patients receive therapeutic Pforsich has a phone mount ny from a number of individu-
and patience. which he would enjoy several treatments and comprehensive on his chair, and can dictate als about the resilience of the
“You just have to remind refreshing dips, but the initial services. notes or assignments via human body, fueling Carson’s
yourself that you have to keep sight of the water proved over- The program includes peer voice-activated programs. faith in his ability to walk again
working to make it happen at whelming for Pforsich, and he support, case management and Friends take notes he can one day, particularly given his
all.” had to turn back. education on an array of new photograph. His sister, Kelsey, continued physical progress.
His potential for full recovery He knew to prepare himself considerations, from skin care a junior, helps him with home- A local chiropractor, Brian
— for walking again, even — is for an emotional reaction the and adaptive technologies to work, as well. Langermann, who works with
unclear. next time, and had no problem at relationships and intimacy. Pforsich’s release from Valley him several times a week at his
“There is,” he acknowledged, all getting in the water. And he When he arrived in San Jose, Medical Center primarily Sebastopol fitness club, recently
“no way to know.” plans some day to return to the Pforsich had no movement reflected his improvement and detected signs of nerves firing
beach where his life changed, below the chest, and was able increasing independence. But in one of his hands, suggesting
Emotional odyssey when he’s ready. only to lie in bed and sit for it also was contingent on the increased movement could be on
A newly minted adult — his “The first thing is I want to brief periods in a wheelchair. ability of his divorced parents to the way.
18th birthday was Jan. 13 — be able to walk there,” Pforsich The ensuing days were full and demonstrate their own compe- Pforsich appears less excited
Pforsich comes across not so said, adding, “I’m not really sure exhausting as he worked to tence in transferring their son by this new development than
much stoic as steady, focused, what’s going to happen, but I’m rebuild his strength and relearn into and out of bed, the shower, his father, but said he is driven
pragmatic. At an age when most going to do it anyway.” common activities, like eating the car, said Andy Pforsich, a by the prospect of a full recov-
young people are striving toward and brushing his teeth. longtime Sonoma County fire- ery, even as he learns new skills
independence, he is now even Day at the coast Weekends allowed time for fighter who serves as assistant through which he can adapt to
more reliant on his mother and On Sept. 24, the day of his visitors who came in a continu- chief at Gold Ridge Fire Protec- his limitations.
father — for everything from accident, Pforsich and some ous stream, as they had to Me- tion District. “I try to stay more optimistic
bathing and dressing to trans- friends were in Bodega Bay for morial Hospital — a concession It’s Andrea Pforsich who than realistic as of right now
portation in a special van with a lunch when they decided to Pforsich’s parents made upon provides much of the round- but also have to keep in mind
ramp and the space to accommo- swing by the beach off Pinnacle his insistence during his initial the-clock care, rising at night that I can’t just be doing therapy
date the cumbersome, 400-pound Gulch trail. hospitalization. He was still to reposition her son in bed so expecting everything’s going to
power chair. Pforsich’s close friend, An- intubated at that time but used a he won’t get pressure sores, come back, and that’s all I have
He’s lost a good deal of weight thony Lepori, got in the water letter board to communicate: “I managing his personal care and to work for,” he said. “I have to
but not his ready smile. With the first and was heading away want to see more people.” looking for ways to improve his learn to do stuff in case it doesn’t
increased freedom in his upper from shore when Pforsich dove, Visitors to intensive care are appetite, so he doesn’t lose more come back. I have to balance
body and arms, he’s regained an struck bottom and was suddenly usually limited to two, said his weight. those.”
expressive quality that the inju- rendered immobile. father. “We constantly went be- There’s a great deal of driv- But “one thing that’s pretty
ry robbed him of at first, making He was facedown in the water, yond that,” Andy Pforsich said. ing, as well, divided between constant is my focus on the
for more natural interaction unable to move for several Among them were teammates both parents. With help from ultimate goal,” he said, “and just
with others. knowing that I have to work ev-
He can scratch his ear, ges- ery day to make that a reality.”
tures frequently as he talks, and “I try to stay more optimistic than realistic as of right now
works his fingers constantly You can reach Staff Writer Mary
to encourage movement and but also have to keep in mind that I can’t just be doing Callahan at 707-521-5249 or
strength.
There are moments he has therapy expecting everything’s going to come back.” mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.
com. On Twitter @MaryCalla-
been down emotionally, but he CARSON PFORSICH, Analy High School senior who become paralyzed after a diving accident at Bodega Bay hanB.