I read this ng on a regular basis, even though I don't post that often.
Thought that you may like to read an e-mail that I sent to my relatives and friends concerning the Paso Robles earthquake of 12/22. Obviously, to the international readers, it is likely that you did not see the results.
I will follow up in a few days as to the status of the different wineries in the area, once the reports come in. I have tried to get hold of the person that I sell my grapes to, but there was no answer. Stephan Asseo, whom you may have read about in Wine Spectator is presently in France, so I'll try to see what is going on.
I will make a tour of my vineyard tomorrow afternoon to see what kind of damage there is. I would think that it should be minimal.
Barbara is my wife.
It was quite bad.
Barbara had a close call. She was shopping in Paso in the dress store and in the collapsed building that you saw on TY. Barbara got out without physical damage, except for breathing the dust, etc.
She had just talked to one of the two women that got killed a few minutes prior. From her teaching days, Barbara wanted to get under a table/desk, etc., for shelter, so she stayed inside. The two women that got killed ran out into the street when the side of the building collapsed, killing them.
I was in Atascadero and getting ready to exercise when the quake occurred. It was so strong, I thought that Atascadero was the epicenter, which obviously it was not. Some parts of the false ceiling fell a few feet from me. Other than the dust, etc., I too escaped without any physical damage.
Our house had no damage. There were a few things on the floor and that was it. I attribute it to the fact that the house is built on hard pan.
Talking to various friends in different areas, without any doubt, it was bad. This includes native Californians.
A daughter of a close friend of Barbara was to work in the store next to the dress store starting at 2 PM - this store had its roof collapse. The quake was at 11:15.
From my selfish point of view, as Barbara pointed out, I was quite close to becoming a widower. It is now 12 hours after the quake and I am only starting to realize how close things were
Even though this coming holiday season is not Thanksgiving, we and our friends have a lot to be thankful for.
Best wishes for the holiday season.
Blair & Barbara.