The Glass Mountain Fire

During this period of wine country history, it seemed that there was another major fire every year. While the fires of the previous years had been cause for a fright, this time it was a direct hit. There was little that could have been done to combat the sustained period high winds in dry conditions. The underbrush management had been non-existent. It was truly a perfect storm. The Bertolli’s who lived across the road lost their home and have not since returned. Armando who was working at the neighboring vineyard told me his story about staying to try and fight the fire. He is lucky to be alive after rolling his truck off the road and eventually being rescued. My friend Mario and I made it beyond the police barricade with some counterfeit paperwork and made it up to the property while everything was still smoldering. It would have been an easy moment to give up on the project. On the contrary, even as sad as it was to see so many hundred-year-old trees burned, there was never a moment when we thought of turning back. The ashes of one season are the nutrients for the next. Remarkably, some of the most iconic trees survived. Others which were burned to the ground resprouted vigorously from their subterranean root systems. In the fullness of time, who knows, it may be even seen as a benefit that this fire came through.