Empty North Bay lodgings fill as people flee fastgrowing fires

Knowing that Northern California hotels could soon be inundated by evacuees fleeing the fastmoving Glass Fire, Steve Page is doing his best to increase amenities at the 50 Acres Campground by the Sonoma Raceway, near San Pablo Bay in southern Sonoma County.

Page, president and general manager of the raceway, announced Monday that the track’s huge campground would open as a refuge to evacuees. He is working to secure National Guard services — medical and security help for evacuees — and shower trailers that can be difficult to find, especially since hotels in the area are suddenly slammed after being nearly empty for six months.

“When you consider the combination of looking back to three years ago and the layers of disasters we’re all currently dealing with, it can leave you a little numb,” said Page, who was forced to live in a remote vehicle on the campground for a week during the fires in 2017 — all the while worrying about his Sonoma Valley home, which ultimately survived the firestorm.

The similarities to three years ago are striking: fires, evacuations and poor air quality. But now there’s the coronavirus pandemic, which means that after months of grappling with a shrinking customer base, hotels are seeing swarms of new local reservations in Napa and Sonoma counties.

“We didn’t have such a high occupancy during the pandemic, but today for the first time in months, we have full occupancy,” a Napa River Inn employee, who declined to give her name, said by phone. She said every room in the 66room luxury hotel in downtown Napa was sold out Monday, and customers were checking in nonstop.

Napa and Sonoma counties reopened hotels and lodging in midJune after three months of shelterinplace closures, with hopes of luring back local tourists.

Sonoma is in the purple tier, the state’s lowest rank in reopening measures. Hotels and lodgings are allowed to operate but on a modified level. Napa is in the red tier, a rank above purple, which allows hotels to be open, along with limited fitness center operations.

Tony Abboud said the smoke from the St. Helena area is obvious nearly 40 miles away, where he manages the SureStay Hotel in Fairfield. “The ash is everywhere, and we keep cleaning,” he said.

With electricity, cable and WiFi coming in and out, Abboud said he has tried to access his personal hot spot to help customers use their computers. He is giving discounts and has stopped charging fees for pets for the handful of evacuees who have already checked in to his hotel.

“You think the fire is out, and then, the winds change, and it’s going again,” Abboud said. “It’s so sad for all of these people.”

The Glass Fire started on Sunday morning and grew to encompass the smaller Shady and Boysen fires overnight.

Given the limits on shelter options, Sonoma Raceway opened its campgrounds, which are equipped to handle up to 2,000 during major event weekends. They housed 200 to 300 people who evacuated in 2017.

The 2020 version will include mandatory face coverings and social distancing, according to Page.

“The best case is that we can go home and shut things down, but we’re ready for whatever the circumstances throw at us,” he said. “We’ll all be very happy when 2020 is behind us. 2021 is going to be much better.

“It will have to be.”