Fire near Ridge Vineyards

Alas, Max, neither of those websites has been updated since you posted this. I hope that the fire's not spreading and that they're getting it under control. I sincerely hope that no one's home or life has been lost and also that the vineyards are safe.

Mark Lipton

Early this morning the fire is being characterized in local media as "nearly contained." (Some locals may recall with concern the comments like that during the Oakland Hills Fire in the Fall of 1991, whose increasing smoke I witnessed -- from a promontory at Ridge Vineyards in fact -- on the next and destructive day. During a picnic at Ridge by local wine enthusiasts. Organized incidentally on ba.food, then still the region's only public Internet food forum, and by consensus much more constructive and informational in tone at that time than it is now.)

They were using a DC-10, a retired airliner, to drop gigantic quantities of fire retardant. An unusual sight around the area's steep canyons. (The fire is in Stevens Canyon, a road known further north as Foothill Expressway.) A local fire official said the DC-10 was effective in damping fire in steep terrain inaccessible to crews. (It was also mentioned that the state, on the other hand, declines to use these planes in its rural firefighting.)

Thanks for report. As a winelover hard not to worry re vines and wineries, but obviously the main thing is that people stay safe.

Correction of detail: Make that US Forest Service declines. Comment was from a California fire official.

According to the Murky News, the fire is 50% contained, as of this morning.

According to the Ridge website

News August 31, 2007

We are all safe and sound at Ridge Vineyards; including the wine! None of our buildings have been affected by the fire in the immediate area. Thank you all for your support and concern!

I for one am breathing easier for the moment!

Curt