Firefighters wearing dark blue dress uniforms gathered in Sonoma on Tuesday to pay respects to longtime Schell-Vista Fire Chief Mitch Mulas.
Ranchers and family friends joined an overflow crowd of nearly 2,000 at St. Francis Solano Church for a Catholic funeral Mass for Mulas, the patriarch of a longtime dairy family who also dedicated nearly 70 years to the volunteer department.
About 150 firefighters in 50 vehicles from North Bay agencies and CalFire attended the service, which filled the both the church and parish hall, with more people on the adjacent parochial school playground.
Large video screens were set up for viewing the service in the hall and on the playground.
"It's unbelievable how many people's lives the Chief touched," firefighter and Schell-Vista department spokesman Adam Lobsinger said, using the well-known nickname for Mulas.
Following the Mass, mourners traveled from the church, past the Sonoma Plaza to the Schell-Vista Fire Protection District, Station 1 for a reception.
Mulas died March 31 at age 82, still head of the fire department he'd helped his father form in 1942.
Mulas spent most of his life working from sunrise to sundown, turning his father's small ranch on Highway 121 into a 900-head dairy farm. He also farmed 350 acres of pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and pinot gris grapes.
He was 14 when he went on his first call as a volunteer firefighter, became assistant chief in 1955 and had been chief since 1968.
His sons, Ray and Mike Mulas, serve the department, as well.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: