California’s Wildfires Came at the Worst Time for Wine Industry
Harvest time is now, but fires are preventing grape picking in many places, while smoke threatens to taint acres of crops.
A local resident standing next to a vineyard watches the LNU Lightning Complex fire blaze in the hills on Aug. 20 in Healdsburg, Calif. The LNU Lightning Complex fire, spread over five counties, has burned more than 130,000 acres.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North AmericaVineyard owners in California’s Napa and Sonoma regions and the Santa Cruz Mountains had planned to harvest grapes over the next few weeks. But with flames threatening wineries and homes, thousands of people have had to evacuate, although some winemakers and winery workers stayed to help fight the fires alongside Cal Fire, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
It’s hard to grasp the extent of devastation. On Wednesday morning, Aug. 26, Cal Fire reported that in the prior eight days, the LNU Lightning Complex fire engulfing Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Solano, and Yolo counties had burned 357,046 acres, destroyed 978 structures, damaged an additional 256, and killed five people. One part, the Hennessey Fire in Napa and Lake counties, had accounted for 299,763 acres and was only 33% contained. In Sonoma, the component Walbridge fire had burned 54,923 acres and is only 19% contained. Down in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a separate conflagration, the CZU August Lightning Fire, had burned nearly 79,000 acres burned and destroyed 330 structures.