September 22, 2021
Unlike many visitors to the Napa and Sonoma valleys, neither of us are wine lovers. But we still had a great time exploring the two valleys.
We were staying in Sonoma but made the short drive to nearby Napa to have a look around. There was a devastating earthquake in Napa in 2014 and many of the old buidings were destroyed and damaged beyond repair. As a result, downtown Napa is less charming than Sonoma with a newer more commercial feel. However, some of the older buildings have survived.
2021 is shaping up potentially to be one of driest years on record for California and it shows. The whole area is devastatingly dry and it’s easy to see why fires are such a problem. We saw these dangers first hand on our drive back from Napa to Sonoma. Only three hours earlier we had passed over the same road and everything was quiet and peaceful. However, in that short period of time, a fire had started and on our return to Sonoma we found ourselves driving directly toward a massive tower of smoke.
Fire engines and trucks carrying earthmoving machinery were converging on the fire from all directions. By the time we passed we could see firefighters trying to contain the fire. With the wind continuing to fuel the blaze it was hard to see how they could succeed. They did ultimately contain the fire, but only after it had consumed about 120 acres of vegetation. It was a terrifying reminder of how disaster is just a spark away in this tinder dry region.
Mal and Lauren 