Wildfires have ravaged many wine regions around the globe during in the past couple of years. Several hundred people have sadly perished, and property and infrastructure damage has been considerable in most affected areas.

Taking a blinkered view, it seems that relatively few vineyards were destroyed in California's October 2017 fires. In fact vineyards often act as firebreaks due to a relative lack of combustible material, and have been credited with limiting the overall impact of wildfire outbreaks.