On our drive through Carneros yesterday noticed new blades of green grass poking through some of the scorched earth near Nicholson Ranch. That made me happy.
They say the Redwood Lillies are going to bloom in the Mayacamas for the first time since the fires of â64. They only grow after wildfires. #naturesway
Beautiful flower images, very symbolic. Thank you Brian for organizing the benefit auctions, and for personally taking the time to drop off the wines to me when I visited the area recently â was an amazing gesture and made me feel pretty inspired.
A nice plug on the USA Today site:
Saw the same thing in the hills of Fountain Grove. Green grass sprouting up all over. And we have not had any rain until today.
Is the upcoming rainy stretch going to be gradual enough to be a good thing or will heavy erosion/mudslides be an issue?
Weâve got quite aways to go before we have to worry about erosion. Rain today has been light and on the West side of 101. Just moving East this evening. Lots of absorbtion to go albeit without any groundcover in the fire zone.
We received 1â of rain yesterday in Forestville,winds blew last night fairly gusty. About .6â forecast over the coming week so weâll be fine.
Another push for tourists to come
Itâs a great time to come, I was in Calistoga the other day and the parking lot at CalMart was nearly empty. I usually have to jockey for a spot. Checker said itâs been dead since the fire. Seriously, unless you drive over the hill from Sonoma to Napa or drive the Trail in Stags Leap of Hwy 12 in Glen Ellen you wonât know there was a fire. With the rain weâve gotten it will be green in a matter of days.
Visiting the Napa area 1st week of Dec. and cannot wait.
With a good friend to hold my hand, today I ventured out to see what is being alluded to as a possible source of the Tubbs fire.
I did not set the odometer, but I am going to guess it is 4 miles from here? Bennett Lane. Guarded and blocked off for investigation of electrical malfunctions.
I drove my Emily to work at 2 horse stables - one on Bennett Lane and another right on 128 across from the pig farm (Blossom Creek Stables) for years. Those 2 stables are right in the middle of charred remains. Very difficult to face what were such wonderful memories for us - of horses and riding and working at the stables. Essentially of innocence, particularly for young girls. And their moms.
Envy Wines, Tamber Bey, Chateau Montelena, Nadalie CooperageâŚall there on the edges.
Now seeing charred remains, burned out trucks and structures is beyond belief. Imagining the horror of having the fire lick at your heels. What must have been an unbelievable panic to move horses and other beings out. The possibility and reality, for some, of losing essentially everything.
We came solemnly back to my place, but the odor of smoke was attached to us.
That fire, the Tubbs, reportedly started at 9:50 that Sunday night. I saw it raging, from my upstairs window, at 10:00. I knew it was new. Fires donât burn that red when they are hours or days old. There was no smoke, but it was the night of the fiercest windstorm. Etched in memory.
And by midnight it was already burning homes in Coffey Park. It moved so quickly.
I took a couple videos during my work week on my normal travel routes. The enormity of this still hasnât sunk in.
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East on Mark West Springs Rd from Old Redwood Hwy to Johnâs Auto Body when the road starts climbing the hill.
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West on Hopper from Punchdown cellars to Coffey Lane then South to San Miguel. Hopper extends another 9 block to the West.
Time for day trippers to head north:
Had some friends in town this weekend that lost their house in Fountain Grove. Was very sobering to hear their story - they split time between CA and NY, but happened to be home that night. One of their neighbors saw three cars in the driveway at 11:00 PM and started pounding on their door. They wouldnât be here today if it wasnât for that neighbor. They shared some video they took, including one of their 15 year old holding up his bent bed frame, while wearing an air filter. Most of his school burned down (Cardinal Newman), but the area rallied and held classes in different locations.
I canât imagine having 15 minutes to pack the car up with everything you thing is important in life and then drive away, watching your house disappear in the rearview mirror.
No, one cannot imagine that. My property - home, business, vineyard, petsâŚeverything I have, essentially, was here and left behind. Took one of 3 catsâŚthe others would not come.
When people look at me - even some friends - and say, âBut Merrill, you didnât LOSE anything.â Nope. Essentially in a material sense, I did not. But the âlossâ is real, and has not left us who lived through it. I lost it, whatever âitâ is. Only close friends and now psychiatrists understand this. Mental health care in Napa and Sonoma is up by at least 50% since early October.
One does not have to lose everything to experience loss. For those who do not âget it,â maybe next time it wil be your turn.
prayers
My two boy cats (who were left behind in the Tubbs fire - but joyfully rejoined me after 6 days of my exile) were spooky last night, just smelling a fire dozens of miles away. No one living here was unaffected by those October fires. Show it or hide it or seek help for your reaction to it; trust me, we are all still affected.
This is not a good omen.
The Associated Press: Giant sequoia still smoldering from 2020 California wildfire.
Glad it wasnât a hawk or coyote.