(Time) - Napa winemaker Clayton Kirchhoff drove down a winding road this week, past singed power lines swinging in the air and houses that had been reduced to little more than rubble beside a swimming pool. Farmers on one property counted their sheep to see how many were left, as big silver tankers carted wine out of the area, one of many in California that had been ravaged by fire since Sunday night. Kirchhoff, who lost his home in the flames, was headed for White Rock Vineyards, an estate where grapes have been grown since before Prohibition — and where, on Wednesday morning, flames were still licking smoldering tree stumps. Right now it "feels like everything is in slow motion," he says.

The recent outbreak of wildfires in California is one of the worst the state has ever seen. As of Thursday, more than 8,000 firefighters were tackling 21 fires, which had already consumed 3,500 structures and led to the death of at least 29 people. Emergency officials worked to evacuate more than 20,000 from their homes, many of them in counties famed for making wine to the north of San Francisco.

Several wineries in Napa and Sonoma blazed to the ground. As flames spread, winemakers were forced to leave grapes unpicked at the end of harvest season and abandon vats of fermenting fruit that they typically tend with great care. Over recent days, responders have struggled to contain fires in the area, and evacuation orders have kept coming. That has left the many people who keep the area's $26 billion wine industry humming — from farmers to tasting-room owners— at a loss to assess the damage, even as they prepare to rebuild.