Community in California

Many of the workers who help keep Napa Valley’s famous wineries running live in the section of Lake County that was hit by the wildfire, said Michael Dunsford, the vice mayor of Calistoga, who owns a restaurant in town. The chef at his restaurant believed his house was gone, as did the manager of a restaurant down the street. With the road back to Middletown closed, neither of them had been able to check.

“Lake County is the more affordable place to live,” Mr. Dunsford said, “so that’s where a lot of the employees for the wineries and the restaurants and hotels go. They’re the ones who are now being hit hardest and losing their homes.”

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