Calistoga (United States) (AFP)
The Silverado Trail, a small road along the famous vineyards of Napa Valley in northwest California, has long been a wine lover's paradise.
An Eden today largely reduced to ashes by a devastating fire.
The Glass fire consumed a 3-star restaurant, wineries like Chateau Boswell, and the smoke soiled the precious grapes.
At least a dozen wineries have burned down since the blaze, which devastated more than 20,000 hectares, broke out this week.
The US West Coast is experiencing a record-breaking fire season, with five of the six largest fires in California state history currently active, and more than 1.6 million hectares covered.
On Wednesday, in the small town of Calistoga, the skeleton of a motorhome lay not far from a car whose paint had melted on the hood.
As smoke rose from the hills, firefighters attempted to put out starting flames using pickaxes, shovels and water hoses.
The wineries still standing were closed, visitors missing due to evacuation orders in force for the entire area.
At the entrance to the Meadowood hotel complex, where chef Christopher Kostow allowed the restaurant to obtain three Michelin stars, a security guard stands guard.
If other parts of the place were spared, the restaurant itself was razed.
The flames also passed very close to Chief Kostow's house.
“Losing your restaurant and your house is a double shock that no one could endure,” said the mayor of Calistoga, Chris Canning, who himself went to inquire about the state of the evacuated chef's home.
- 120,000 bottles -
At Caligstoga Ranch, which offered its guests access to a swimming pool, lake, and hiking trailheads, flames escape from gas pipes into the ruins of luxurious mobile homes.
"It wasn't just any establishment," laments Matt Macdonald, a firefighter from nearby Sonoma, gazing at the still steaming landscape.
Near the sign for valet service, remains of a golf cart previously used to transport customers within the properties have been twisted by the heat of the flames.
"This is all very sad," laments the Napa County Deputy Sheriff, gazing into the surrounding vineyards.
"The people who come here each have their own memories, often related to an area they love and which has become dear to them."
In Calistoga, known for its hot springs, mud baths and guided tours of wine production, the manager of the winery at Castello di Amorosa braved the thick smoke to assess the damage.
The flames engulfed a stone farmhouse used to store some 120,000 bottles of wine, valued at around $ 5 million.
Another 10 to 12 million will be needed to rebuild the building, according to owner Dario Sattui.
Calistoga, deserted by its 5,000 inhabitants, was surrounded by the blaze, but the vines, green and without brush, acted as a brake in the absence of strong winds.
A renowned destination since the end of the 19th century, it normally welcomes around one million visitors each year.
Tourism, already severely damaged by the pandemic, is now stricken by fires.
"2020 is a rotten year, I would like it to end", sighs the mayor.
"We will get over it, but let's make sure that everything happens in 2020, that we can be peaceful for the following years."
© 2020 AFP