In September 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom stood amid the devastation of a wildfire that ultimately burned more than 300,000 acres, incinerated entire towns, and killed 16 people. His voice hoarse in a ghastly gray air, the governor spoke angrily.
By Lena Beck
It was almost two years ago – the morning of September 8, 2020 – when Clea Arthur started her day with a five-mile run along the Pacific Crest Trail where it crosses Mount Ashland in southern Oregon.
“It was beautiful,” Arthur said. “I had the most beautiful run, until the whole world fell apart.”
Though Arthur had no inkling of the devastation that was to unfold, that September morning became marked in history as the day that a raging wildfire burned through 3,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,500 homes in the valley at the foot of the mountain where Arthur was running. Dubbed the Almeda Fire, it became known as one of the most destructive in Oregon history.
Among the scores of businesses damaged in the fire was a winery and tasting room that Arthur had opened with her partner Brian Denner in 2017. Following the fire all that remained of their operation was a mix of melted steel and the concrete foundation of what had been their business. All their wine was lost — equivalent to more than 34,000 bottles.
EWG
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