Sonoma's Wine Country Burns When the Wind Blows
The Nuns Fire tore through 54,382 acres of Sonoma Valley in 2017, destroying 1,355 structures in the hills above town. Nestled between the Sonoma Mountains and the valley floor, this historic city sits squarely in wildfire's path — and California now rewards homeowners who harden their properties.
Sonoma sits at the base of the Sonoma Mountains on the eastern edge of Sonoma Valley, a geography that has defined both its famous wine industry and its wildfire exposure. The city's historic Plaza and residential neighborhoods occupy the valley floor, but development extends into the oak-studded foothills along Broadway, East Napa Street, and the roads climbing toward Glen Ellen and the Sonoma Mountain ridgeline. It's this valley-to-mountain transition that makes Sonoma particularly vulnerable.
On October 8, 2017, the Nuns Fire ignited in the hills above Kenwood and burned southwest through the Sonoma Mountains, consuming 54,382 acres and destroying 1,355 structures. Mandatory evacuations reached into the city of Sonoma itself, and the smoke that settled over the valley for weeks was a visceral reminder that wildfire doesn't respect city limits. The same Diablo wind conditions that drove the Nuns Fire — hot, dry northeast winds compressing through mountain passes — will occur again.