Recovery
The Napa Valley is our home, not a destination. And while we don’t think anyone is trying to pretend the fires that ravaged Napa County didn’t happen, we can’t just let the last ember burn out and suddenly slap a “Now Open!” sign up, either.
Society often engages with stories of intense human tragedy and despair and then the temptation is to move on, while the people profoundly affected continue dealing with the aftermath for months, years and lifetimes. People have lost their lives, their homes, their businesses. Everything.
John Taylor’s blog, Napa: One Week Later, articulates it so well.
There is no way we can quickly get back to business as usual, as much as we might wish it.
Now is the time to pause, take a breath and focus on coming to terms with the enormity of what has happened. It’s a time to help each other reconstruct our lives, our businesses, find homes or rebuild.
While our land is scorched and our air unhealthy, our priority must be to work together as a community to rebuild lives and property so, when the time is right, visitors may return to a Valley ready to welcome and accommodate them.