Northern California Wildfires: In Apocalyptic Scene, A Sign Of Life

NAPA, CA — The Atlas Peak Fire roaring through northern California’s prime wine country doesn’t discriminate, eating up once-grand mansions, wineries and grapevines used in the production of some of the country’s most valuable vintages. At least 21 people had died by Wednesday as wind- and drought-fueled fires raged for a fourth day.

Bay Area News Group photographer Jose Carlos Fajardo and reporter Erin Baldassari took in the grim, apocalyptic scene Monday as they drove along Shady Oaks Drive in the Silverado Trail area of Napa. They happened on a dead horse, a pen where seven goats had perished and other signs of catastrophic loss.

And then, probably when they needed to see it most, Fajardo and Baldassari saw life — a herd of goats seemingly oblivious to their brush with death, “romping and frolicking in their pen,” according to a report in The Mercury News. (For more news on the wildfires and other news from Napa Valley Patch, sign up for real-time news alerts and free morning newsletters, or find your local California Patch here.If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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Their pen was untouched, though the fire destroyed the home and almost everything else around it. Then, they saw another goat sitting quietly amid the ashes, her legs tucked beneath her, her gazed fixed.

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Northern California Wildfires: Latest Need-To-Know Information

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“We were in awe,” Fajardo said. “We were so surprised that they had survived. There was so much destruction. How did this herd of goats not get taken?”

After he snapped some photos, he gently picked her up and returned her to the pen with the others.

» It’s a sweet story. Read the full account on The Mercury News.

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Photo: The sun shines through smoke from the Atlas Peak Fire behind grape vines on Oct. 11 near Napa, California. In one of the worst wildfires in state history, more than 2,000 homes have burned and at least 21 people have been killed as more than 14 wildfires continue to spread with little containment northern California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty News Images/Getty Images)