Vineyard ventures return with some restrictions lifted in the Lake Fire zone

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif. – The Lake Fire is now one week old, and one area in the Santa Ynez Valley that had a significant road closure is now open.

That is on Foxen Canyon where a line up of wineries are located in the Los Olivos area.

For those heading into the Santa Ynez Valley for the wine tasting known worldwide, they said the Lake Fire up in the higher ground has not put a squeeze on their vineyard ventures.

"We did not turn around we came over here we expected to enjoy a good day regardless of the fact," said Cesar Lomeli from Arroyo Grande.

A group of eight had plans to make a few leisurely stops and not take a detour.

Lomeli said, "there was no delay in the road there were some signs, aside from that it was perfect. "

The Sunstone Winery, like several others, had air conditioning and a way to refocus the guests, so the fire was just a flicker in their minds.

Josue Mejia was pouring at Sunstone and said, "we have the ability to also host inside. That is a huge plus for us. It gets pretty crowded up here in the back, in the caves and all that."

The mid-July weekend crowds slowed down when the fire started, now they are expected back.

Pete Klippel at Sunstone has seen some bustling weekends. "It's been pretty good for us. Sometimes on a Saturday we will have seven or 800 people come through here but we've got all the stations, we have ten or 12 servers."

Across the valley, a road closure has been lifted on Foxen Canyon as of Friday afternoon.

All of these wineries are breathing a sigh of relief that their properties have been spared.

At Andrew Murray winery, Izabelle Ruehlman said, "it's been funky last few days but it's been really really nice. It is nice that we still have people coming in, we still have nice friendly faces."

The vintners were united to make sure the fire crews had full access and that's helped to defend their properties.

Ruehlman said the fire crews have been coming and going and also in town to take a break for coffee and food.

"A lot of us wineries on the strip, that was always a concern and they have done a great job of keeping it happy," she said. "We're constantly checking what's going on but we are safe the firefighters have done a great job of keeping this place happy, yea we're all good!"

Klippel said his goal is to give the guest the visit they expect and not to worry about the fire. "When you get here we will take care of you and you will enjoy it!"

The Santa Ynez Valley wine industry has been an economical boost to the county's budget not just in the agriculture department but also with tourism overall.