Tossed cigarette may have caused massive B. C. blaze
But crippling disaster averted for vineyards along the ‘ Golden Mile’
Wine growers in B. C.’ s south Okanagan are accustomed to summer wildfires, but rarely do they come this close, this fast.
Monday, staffers at Church & State Wines recalled how they worked frantically to save business records and computer equipment as the blaze roared nearer late Friday. They used their cellphone cameras to record inventory of their barrels and bottled wine.
Later, from a tasting bar across the valley, they watched in “complete disbelief” as wind- whipped flames advanced to within 15 metres of the property, said John Pullen, the winery’s marketing director.
On the company’s Twitter page, they posted this ominous message: “We may have lost the winery.”
“We honestly thought the vineyard was on fire,” Pullen said.
Fortunately, for Church & State and the dozens of other wineries along the “Golden Mile,” a popular tourist area between Oliver and Osoyoos dotted with lushgreen vineyards set against gentle mountains, a potentially crippling disaster had been averted.
Fire crews, shifting winds and quick action by locals to douse hillsides with water managed to keep flames at bay.
By all accounts Monday, the area’s wineries and vineyards — key drivers in this province’s $ 2- billion wine industry — emerged relatively unscathed from the Testalinden Creek Fire, which has scorched 1,600 hectares and was said to be 40 per cent contained.
But even as skies cleared and an evacuation order was lifted, concerns lingered about the effects of the smoke on this year’s vintage.
“It’s definitely a concern. It’s something we’ll be watching through the harvest, as we get the fruit inside ( in the coming weeks),” Pullen said.
At the nearby family- run Road 13 Vineyards, Joe Luckhurst, general manager, recalled an “apocalyptic” scene Friday as staff worked furiously to tear out sage brush and dry grass, and soak the ground with water — anything to slow the fire’s advance.
Like Pullen, Luckhurst said he’s worried about possible “smoke taint” on his crops, but it’s too early to say what effect, if any, there may have been.
“We won’t know until it’s in the bottle,” he said.
Sara Triggs, sales and marketing manager, at the Culmina Family Estate Winery, cautioned against unnecessary panic.
There are reasons to be optimistic, said Tony Munday, executive director of the Oliver- Osoyoos Winery Association.
He said viticulturists and winemakers told him it was likely too late in the season for the smoke to have done any serious damage. Also, it didn’t settle in the valley long enough, nor was it dense enough.
“For what came across as a huge catastrophe, we’re coming out of this unscathed,” he said.
Navi Gill, manager of the Gold Hill Winery, said he did a visual inspection of his vineyard Monday. He also tasted his red grapes and didn’t notice any discernible change. Harvesting should begin in the first week of September.
This has been one of the busiest fire seasons on record. So far, British Columbia has spent more than $ 200 million battling blazes that have scorched nearly 300,000 hectares.
The Southern Okanagan region, where much of the current firefighting effort is concentrated, is considered to have ideal temperatures and geography for wine growing. The wine business is a mainstay of the local economy.
Until the recent fires, this had been considered an exceptional growing season, with higher thannormal temperatures and little precipitation. Production schedules were said to be a couple of weeks ahead of normal.
Vintners know things could have been a lot worse. Just east of Osoyoos, the Rock Creek Fire has engulfed 3,750 hectares and destroyed 29 homes. It remains uncontained.
Staff at Church & State expressed their relief on Twitter: “So so close,” they wrote.
Compared to other winemaking regions of the world, B. C.’ s Southern Okanagan doesn’t compete heavily for exports, relying instead on homegrown tourism.
So it was no surprise Monday, local officials focused on getting the word out: the surrounding hills may be charred black, but the Golden Mile is open for business.
“They’re still swimming in the lake and they’re still pouring ( wine),” said Ron Hovanes, the mayor of Oliver.