Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Services Held Today for Healdsburg Women Killed In Motor Home Fire
Last Wednesday's fire took the life of 70-year-old Juanita Frances Lownes.
Note: This story was updated on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012.
UPDATE: Funeral services were held today for Juanita Frances Lownes, who died last week in a fire in her motor home north of Healdsburg.
According to an obituary published in the Press Democrat, Lowes was affectionately known by the nickname "Punky" by friends and family.
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By Bay City News Service
The Sonoma County coroner's office has identified a woman who was found dead after a fire in her Healdsburg motor home last week as 70-year-old Juanita Frances Lownes.
The fire was reported in the 2200 block of Westside Road at about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, Lt. Steve Brown said. After firefighters extinguished the flames, a body was found in a bed in the rear of the motor home, which was next to the main house on the property and was being used as a living space, Brown said.
Lownes was pronounced dead at 9:54 a.m. Her death is not considered suspicious, according to the coroner's office.but the coroner's office is still awaiting the results of toxicology tests.
Healdsburg Fire Marshal Linda Collister said that the fire is being investigated as an accidental blaze.
"They are looking at a three-point origin," Collister said Monday.
One of the three possible points of origin is toward the front engine compartment, she said.
"The vehicle had not been driven in over a year," Collister said. "It was being converted into a motor home."
Lownes was surrounded by family members on the property, according to Collister. Her son and his wife lived in the main house, and other family members were close by, she said.
Collister and Healdsburg Fire Engineer Ruben Mandujaro are consulting on the investigation, which is being led by Sonoma County Fire Capt. Steve Maciurchak. Healdsburg was first on the scene Wednesday, but the property is located in unincorporated Sonoma County.
Funeral information was not available on Monday.
---Healdsburg Patch Editor Keri Brenner contributed to this story.
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