Life can be full of curveballs. The curveball that Northern California had thrown at it last Monday, Oct. 8, in the wee hours of the morning was nastier than anything Sandy Koufax or Bert Blyleven ever dealt.
Being a native of Napa, CA, I mainly focus on Napa County along with neighboring ones such as Sonoma County to the West and Solano County to the East and Lake County to the North. The 17 wildfires spread over four counties, burning thousands of structures and changing numerous lives. As of this writing, the death toll had reached 40 and the fire was collectively about 40-50 percent contained.
On the surface, last Sunday was like most any other, watch NFL games, relax and enjoy dinner with my wife and three kids. In between, I spent time blogging about two key upcoming high school matchups that involved Vintage at Vacaville and Vanden at American Canyon.
Posting the aforementioned blog item became a moot point when Napa Valley Unified School District athletic director Jill Stewart alerted that all school events throughout the week would be cancelled. Also as of this writing NVUSD closed all schools with sessions tentatively scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
As it pertains to my family, fortunately since we live on the valley floor here in Napa, CA, we are safe but breathing in the smoke has been unpleasant to say the least. Five of my immediate and/or extended families with D’Adamo and/or Santi lineage, however, evacuated their homes. As of this writing, they are safe and so too are their homes. I have friends and/or acquaintances, however, that were not so fortunate.
Even those not affected by the fire were forced to make due without electricity, phone service and internet access. As one who grew up without the internet, that was not a big deal but the lack of power and phone service made acquiring information and communicating a slow process. Many people not affected in Napa regained all three elements by Tuesday afternoon, as in Oct. 9. Given that I grew up without cell phones and internet, not having those elements were not a huge deal but having friends and family from afar text and instant message via Facebook not knowing our well-being was difficult. Lacking the aforementioned elements also made acquiring information and communicating a slow process.
While at present, the fire is far from over, things seem far less frightening now. Having lived in Napa for 39 of the 45 years I have been alive, we have seen earthquakes, floods and fires. This event, however, has been the most difficult to endure bar none. The earthquakes and floods were singular events. They come and go but within a few days, you are on to rebuilding your life. With this fire, wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour on Monday morning set the blaze out of control. The containment was also a process: a) evacuate lives, b) bring in resources from surrounding states to fight the fires and c) the actual process of containing the fire.
Granted, this disaster has been trying on the communities but it is also a reminder why I am proud to be a native Napan. Sure, the community has changed, for the better in some ways but in others not so much, but unless you are small town Mid-America how many hometowns stay the same? That story, however, falls into the “another discussion for another day” category.
The common denominator about Napa through all the aforementioned natural disasters, the community bands together. Local media (Napa Valley Register and KVON 1440 AM) gave round the clock updates. KVON opened its phone lines to eyewitness reports. Whether it was donating items to evacuation centers, providing a safe haven for those that had to leave their homes, or simply being neighborly has been absolutely refreshing. Granted, there are isolated incidents of selfishness but the outpouring of helping hands outshine that act.
As I drive around town and see signs reading things like “Napa Strong,” “We Will Rebuild,” “Thank a First Responder,” etc. gives the community like feeling that we are in this battle together. I get that Napa Valley is known as the Wine Country and people from all over the world come to see it. Tourists feed this valley but in times of crisis, this community’s ability to band together takes a back seat to very few. Translation, you don’t see nonsense such as looting and if it happens, it’s not tolerated. I hope we never lose that element where we circle the wagons in times of crisis.
I also hope life doesn’t deliver anymore curveballs like this one.
SIDEBAR STORY
While the fire avoided my parents’ home, they were evacuated for a week before returning on Saturday night. With roads being closed, I could not see if their home in rural Napa was spared since it was within a couple miles of the city limits. Based on information I heard from my oldest sister along with one of their neighbors, I was confident. However, when road closures were lifted, I had the chance to drive to the house and see it still upright. Regardless of how confident you are in second hand information, nothing beats visual evidence.
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