And those are just the largest of multiple fires burning in the state. Further south, the SCU Lightning Complex fire has burned more than 368,000 acres in the mountains east of San Jose, while the CZU Lightning Complex has consumed more than 80,000 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Better conditions in the past week have allowed firefighters to achieve 33 percent containment. And smoke blankets the region.Īs of August 27, the multiple blazes known as the LNU Lightning Complex fire have consumed more than 368,800 acres in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano and Yolo counties. Vintners in evacuation zones are keeping limited crews in their wineries to monitor fermentations, wondering if the power will stay on and if they’ll have to leave. A heat wave has ripened grapes and growers already had picks scheduled. Meanwhile, vintners are trying to harvest.
More than 500 structures have been destroyed so far. The spread of the fires has been due to what fire department officials call “extreme fire behaviour,” with fires making runs in multiple directions and spot fires popping up in surrounding areas. Vineyards normally act as fire breaks, but can burn when a fire is hot enough and spreading fast enough. A significant heat wave coupled with persistent winds stoked the fires, at least five of which are within Napa County.
#Folie a deux wine giant eagle series#
But the state’s winemakers could never have imagined that excessive heat, lightning storms and raging wildfires - which, in addition to threatening buildings and people, also bring the possibility of smoke that could damage flavours in the grapes - would also accompany the outset of this year’s harvest.Īn unseasonal and unprecedented series of thunderstorms blew through Northern California bringing lightning strikes that ignited dozens of blazes.
#Folie a deux wine giant eagle update#
The 2018 article (in its original entirety) will follow this new update as of August 29:Ĭalifornia’s 2020 vintage was always going to be a challenging one, thanks to the safety challenges and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. We revisit this article with updated information regarding the fires currently threatening California wine country once again. This article was originally published in March of 2018 for West of the City Magazine as part of my regular wine column.
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