LA region fires affect vineyards

First it was the northern wine country; now the Skirball fires are ripping through the outskirts of Los Angeles. Almost 200 homes have been destroyed by the fires which remain out of control. About 200,000 people have been told to evacuate. Loss of power is reported at more than 250,000 homes in Ventura County. The San Diego Freeway was closed. Fueled by hot Santa Ana winds, it is unusual that a wildfire like this has ripped through in December. A state of emergency has been declared yet again.


Rupert Murdoch's estate in Bel-Air and winery, Moraga Vineyards, was evacuated on Wednesday morning as the fire descended. The property was scorched, including the storage unit where the wines from his vineyard are stored. Murdock, a climate change skeptic, seems to be quite concerned.

Helena View Johnston vineyard and winery were burned down to a patch of ash and melted glass at the foot of blackened hills. Glass melts at 2,600 Fahrenheit (1,427C). The firefighters said they’d never seen anything as hot or fierce. Charles Johnston, owner and winemaker, built his winery in 1988 and watched it go up in smoke.

The thing about wine and vineyards is that you spend decades building it up with your own hands, nurturing and refining it for decades longer, and then within minutes it's all gone. 

In the wake of the devastating fires in Napa Valley, tourists are cancelling their trips to California wine country in droves.  The wildfires raged through 245,000 acres of northern California wine country, and the changing direction of the 60 mph winds is to blame for the randomness of the devastation. No doubt there are vast swathes of devastation. An estimated 8,900 structures were destroyed, many of them homes. According to Visit California though, of more than 1,200 wineries in the region, not even 10 sustained heavy damage.

Forty-three people perished, making it the deadliest wildfire in California history. Yet a region that relies heavily on tourism has retained most of what makes it a world-class destination - picturesque hills and vistas, vineyards, restaurants and hotels. Whether wine production and quality are affected in the long term remains to be seen.