Yes, We're Still Here!

Sonoma County had a big fire again. That's two in the last three years and about two too many. The 2017 one was devastating as it came without warning and struck populated areas. Thousands of homes and dozens of lives lost.

"Luckily," the Kincade Fire started in a remote area and there were days to prepare for its advance on nearby towns. A few dozen homes were lost. Most importantly, no lives were lost. The fire stayed in rural parts of the county.

Sonoma Vly is SE of Santa Rosa; Russian River is W of
Santa Rosa; Dry Creek is NW of Healdsburg

 For the visitor the southern part of the county around the town of Sonoma was never really affected other than some power outages. The northern area near the town of Healdsburg was very close to the fire. All of the towns near the fire, Healdsburg, Windsor, and Geyserville are okay. Power is restored. Most businesses are fully operational.

If you watched the fire on the national news you might think the county went up in smoke. It did not. It was a huge fire currently at 120 square miles, or about 6 or 7 percent of Sonoma County. That's big, and not to downplay the severity of the fire, but it was in rural areas.

The winery areas of Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, and Dry Creek are all open for business. The Alexander Valley is still closed down. All of the wine country towns are open. The skies are clear.