The Klamath Mountains are a site to behold.
Earlier this month, I was driving back to Napa after a long weekend on the Oregon coast with my family. Coming down I-5 into California, we marveled at the rugged beauty of our surroundings.
It wasn’t our first trip over the Klamath range, just our first trip post-pandemic, and we all took note of the dense green splendor of far northern California.
About 45 minutes south of Ashland, the pageantry before our eyes abruptly yielded to something deeply unsettling in our noses: smoke from the Park Fire near Chico, which was burning then and continues to burn today.
For those of us in Napa Valley, the smell of wildfire smoke is an immediate trigger; and lately, disasters have been very present on my mind for three reasons.
First, because we are still making sizeable cash grants to the people hardest-hit by the 2020 Glass and LNU Fires — our neighbors with no insurance, or those who were under-insured when the upper Valley was overrun by flames. To date, we’ve distributed nearly $2.5 million to fund immediate relief and long-term rebuilding, and we expect to make a series of final grants to homeowners totaling about $300,000 between now and year-end.
Second, because even as we prepare to wind down disbursements related to the 2020 wildfires, we are keenly aware of the serious risks that the Valley continues to face. That’s why our newly adopted strategic plan both 1) underscores our enduring commitment to disaster response and 2) creates room for us to address climate change as the most salient upstream cause of megafires in our region.
Third, because the Foundation’s disaster response was born exactly ten years ago this month, when the South Napa Earthquake struck at 3:20 a.m. on August 24, 2014, and Napa Valley Vintners entrusted us with a $10 million grant to help those affected. Since then, we’ve distributed about $30 million to help Napa County residents recover, rebuild, and become more resilient.
As I write, the skies above Napa Valley are mercifully clear. At least for now.
I’m immensely grateful for that, and immensely grateful to those of you who contribute to the Foundation when disasters strike.
Because of your generosity, we can be just as vigilant as your noses.
—Terence Mulligan
President & CEO, Napa Valley Community Foundation
📷 Miguel Vieira – Bear Mountain and tarn below Devil’s Punchbowl in Siskiyou Wilderness, CC BY 2.0