California Wildfire Survivors Begin to Help Raise Funds for Relief

Oct 20, 2017

By Ginny Kosola

Life is starting to return to normal in parts of California wine country, where fires destroyed lives, homes and businesses. Pam Starr, co-owner of Crocker and and Starr in St. Helena, Napa County was evacuated from her home by the fires, and she didn’t know whether her business was ruined.

“Both Napa and Sonoma were filled with smoke. We didn’t know what was going on,” Starr said.

But then the skies cleared, her business was intact, and they were able to get back to work “we had a little fruit left, we picked what was left on the Crocker estate in St. Helena.”

Starr says there are many wineries, like hers, that survived. She was touched to see first responders from as far away as Canada, and Australia, coming to California wine country to save lives and preserve homes and businesses.

Now, survivors are helping their neighbors, and wineries that are still in operation are picking up employees from the businesses that were destroyed by the fires. Starr says now that things are returning to normal, “Napa Valley is ready for visitors, we’re getting into business again.”

Starr is among those working to help get other businesses, and people’s lives, back to normal. She and other winemakers are raising money and supplies to help the fire victims through a number of sites.