While some vineyards are in the path of fires across Northern California, many can actually be used as a tool for firefighters to gain an upper hand.
The scene hours after the Mendocino Complex fire tore through almost everything in one Lakeport neighborhood looked grim, except for a vineyard.
"It's scary too because I know personally how much you have invested in a vineyard, and that property, and to have that, that close to you is really concerning and can be really upsetting," Staurt Spencer, Executive Director of the Lodi Wine Grape Commission said.
Spencer says even though the fire came this close, the grapes are not a total loss.
"I've seen cases where they've been able to go through and actually wash the vines off. We do it with mildew and we can do it with ash, and stuff that may be resident on the berries to help preserve and protect the crop for the coming harvest," he said.
Growers tell ABC10 that vineyards can actually be used as tool to help firefighters gain an upper hand.
"In all reality, last year, if you look at Sonoma County and Napa County, the fire would have been a lot worse if vineyards were not there. Vineyards saved a lot of things. Vineyards saved a lot of structures. They helped firefighters in helping stop or at least handle some of the fire," Craig Ledbetter, a partner with Vino Farms partner.
And it's all because they are harder to burn.
"I can show you something right here. That's green growing tissue. It doesn't burn very easy versus dried out brush that hasn't been irrigated or rained on in a long period of time," Ledbetter said.
Further away from the flames, there's still been some concern over lingering smoke. The good news is that the smoke and the haze that you've been seeing rolling into surrounding communities like Lodi isn't having much of an effect on the grapes at all.
"Yeah it is smoky outside today, you can see that, and it has been for quite some time, but not to the level where I think it's going to affect any wine quality," he said.
Growers in Lodi also said if there are any other growers in need affected by these fires, they are happy to step up to help, just as they did after the fires in Sonoma and Napa last year.
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