October 12, 2017
Nashville, TN (RFD-TV) California continues to battle wildfires this morning, with the death toll jumping to 23 overnight as the fires have burned more than 115,000 acres. The impact on the agriculture economy of Napa and Sonoma counties could be devastating.
RFD-TV visited with Megan Brown of Brown Farms (who is also one of our featured FarmHers) to get more details about how farms are being affected in the area. Last year, the county’s agriculture output was valued at nearly $900 million, with wine grapes accounting for nearly half of that total. At least one winery lost its production facility and tasting room to the fires.
And the battle is not over yet: firefighters are keeping up the struggle as the fires continue to spread. Brown said, “There are firefighters in my front yard right now.” But their efforts to contain the fire could face challenges due to weather-induced re-ignition and further spreading of fires that have already been extinguished.
But amidst the grimness of disaster there is a bright side: Brown says that the community support is making it easier to get through this devastating event and the camaraderie is keeping them going.
If you’d like to help wildfire relief efforts, visit these links to learn more.
Sonoma County Resilience Fund – donatenow.networkforgood.org
Napa County Community Foundation – napavalleycf.org
Community Foundation of Mendocino County – communityfound.org