Late on a dark, blustery night almost exactly one year ago, Napa and Sonoma Counties burst into flames. Swaying trees, tinder dry from drought, struck power lines. Multiple blazes ensued. The fires grew explosively, raging through forests, vineyards, and urban areas. They would be the deadliest swarm of wildfires in the United States since 1918.

Historically, October is California’s most dangerous month for fire. Seven of the ten most devastating fires started in Octobers, as did the state’s three most deadly fires. Trees and grasses are desiccated from the long, hot, dry summer. Winds are strong. And, typically, there’s little rain.

Ironically, this year it is rain that threatens harvest, not fire. The growing season is running two to three years later than it has in recent years. That makes it a typical vintage for the pre-drought years. 

A lot of the robust red varieties are still on the vine and probably will be for some time. So too Chardonnay in cool zones. The rain, if brief, probably won’t affect them much. But Pinot Noir, and other early crops are in mid-harvest and could suffer. Still, if the rain helps prevent fire, most people will happily accept the showers.

Some parts of North Coast wine country recovered quickly after the fires. The wet winters promoted growth of grasses, rapidly turning black hills green. For visitors from out of town, identifying fire-damaged areas would have been hard by spring, unless they spotted the charred foundations of destroyed buildings.

But, for many folks who live or work in the area, the recovery has been slower. Most of those who didn’t lose homes or workplaces know someone who did. And, at the very least, they can easily recognize missing forests, shops and housing developments.

Many people who did lose something are still working through it. They might be living in rentals while they wrangle insurance companies, contractors, government agencies during the rebuilding process. 

Victims who didn’t have insurance, or who lost jobs, have it even worse. Hundreds of people, if not more, were living paycheck to paycheck. They could’t afford new rentals; rents went way up due to increased demand, decreased supply, and the willingness of some insurers to pay high rates. Some people are still living with friends or relatives. Others moved out of the immediate area and face long commutes, or even left the state altogether.

A spring view of Mount Veeder, courtesy of The Hess Collection

Still, there has been progress, including re-openings. The Hess Collection in the Mount Veeder AVA, damaged not just in the fire but from the earthquake a few years prior, has finished renovations and is open. Signorello Estate, whose buildings on Silverado Trail burned to the ground, recently opened an interim space for tastings. Rebuilding the estate completely will take a few years. Those wineries, and others in Napa Valley and Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino Counties welcome, and need, visitors. Please keep them in mind for your spare days and weekends.

You can also help the continuing recovery by buying a book. The author, Lisa Mattson, works for Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley. She lost her home and is still rebuilding. She knows what others affected by the fire are going though and wants to contribute to their efforts to recover, or at least get by.

Lisa is contributing 100% of the proceeds from the new edition of her book to Sonoma Family Meal, a non-profit organization currently feeding 80 Sonoma County families who remain displaced and in financial insecurity after the 2017 wildfires. Her book is the story of a young woman’s struggles with naivety, insecurity and the double standards of dating. It’s called The Exes in My Glass: How I Refined My Taste in Men & Alcohol. I have’t read the book myself, but many of my friends have enjoyed it.

The Exes in My Glass ebooks ($9.99) are available on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Google Play. Paperbacks ($15-$18) are sold at major online retailers and the following local businesses: Copperfield’s Books, Healdsburg; Breathless Wines, Healdsburg; SIGH Champagne Bar, Sonoma; Copperfield’s Books, Calistoga. Links to retailers are here. Read the book’s synopsis.

Copyright Fred Swan 2018. Photo of the former Signorello Estate winery courtesy of Signorello Estate. All rights reserved.