'There is no Labor Day': Lake Berryessa community struggles after Hennessey Fire ravages popular Bay Area destination

Sep. 5--CLICK HER -- E if you're having a problem viewing the video or photos on a mobile device.

Forget about spending the Labor Day weekend at Lake Berryessa.

Because of the devastating blaze that raged through the wooded hills all around it last month, the popular lake is off limits to the throngs of Bay Area residents who usually flock to its cooling waters for recreation and summer heat relief.

Instead of the steady drone of outboard motors and the buzz of jet skis, a dead silence filled the air after officials closed the lake to all, including locals, after the Hennessey Fire swept through the area on Aug. 18-19. The blaze, part of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, killed three people and destroyed roughly 100 homes as well as the Markley Cove Resort, a fixture on the lake since 1963.

Mary Hintemeyer, 70, her boyfriend Leo McDermott, 71, and McDermott's 41-year-old son Tom tried to flee, but died inside a homemade fire shelter on their property off Highway 128 near the cove. Two other people also died from the fire in Solano County, making it the most deadly of all of the Lightning Complex conflagrations that have consumed hundreds of thousands of acres the past few weeks and darkened the Bay Area's skies with soot and smoke.

For locals who had counted on an economic boost from visitors seeking healthy outside recreation after being cooped up from conronavirus shelter-in place orders, California's third-largest wildfire couldn't have struck at a worse time.

The lake is expected to remain closed for at least a month. All reservations at Markley Cove, Pleasure Cove, Steele Canyon, Spanish Flat and Putah Canyon Resorts are canceled, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees the lake and its leased concessions.

"We are working hard to make Lake Berryessa safe for our employees and visitors, and that will take time," said the agency's regional director, Ernest Conant. "We ask the public to be patient during this process, and we look forward to opening as soon as possible."

Hundreds of workers from PG&E, AT&T and other agencies are working to restore essential services to the large swath of the area devastated by the fire, which burned all the way to Vacaville and even jumped Interstate 80. The Napa County Sheriff's Department issued a community alert, warning those who were tempted to seek relief from the holiday weekend heat wave to stay away.

"Currently, Lake Berryessa is closed to the public while infrastructure is being rebuilt for future use. We want to thank everyone for their patience and complying with the closure orders. Avoiding the area during closure allows hundreds of workers to do their jobs in a safe and timely manner. Please respect the closure," said Napa County Sheriff John Robertson.

Lake Berryessa, with its many nooks and crannies, is Napa County's largest lake, formed in 1957 when the Monticello Dam was built on Putah Creek. It's long been a popular destination for Bay Area residents seeking a nearby summer escape, though it's also known as a party spot and has had its share of drownings, including five so far this year.

Markley Cove Marina owner Chad Frazier, whose grandfather Carl Frazier established the resort in 1963, lost nearly everything. He said it was tough to comprehend until he saw the destruction in person three days after the fire raged through. High winds and towering walls of flame blackened the hillsides surrounding the lake, tearing apart the rural working-class community.

"We didn't realize how much was damaged down here until we got back up. It's a kick in the gut. You kind of hope for the best, understanding the worst is out there," Frazier said, as he and his employees cleaned up and PG&E worked to restore power on the property.

The resort lost more than 20 new boats on the rental dock, seven out of eight cabins, the store and office. Labor Day has historically been their biggest weekend, which Frazier described as a "last hurrah" for the summer. He had to refund about $500,000 in reservation fees so far, but isn't complaining.

"I don't want anybody to ever think we're victims up here. We have insurance, and we didn't lose our home, we didn't lose our history," Frazier said. "Lake Berryessa is still here; it isn't going away. We're going to rebuild, and we're going to be stronger and better than ever," Frazier said.

There are huge amounts of rubble and burned boats to clear, docks and buildings to rebuild, and an environmental inspection that must be passed before reopening. Frazier said he'll do everything in his power to return as soon as it's safe. A majority of his customers are from the Bay Area, and longtime visitors lamented the destruction of a place that's given them many fond memories.

"In the grand scheme of things, we're OK. We're a business. What happened is tragic and it's sad, but it's not someone's home, it's not anybody's life, it's not their livestock," Frazier said. "We're not looking for sympathy, we're more concerned about the people who lost their homes."

Kailey Brown's newly remodeled home, perched on East Ridge Drive in the hard-hit Berryessa Highlands, was completely flattened. She bought the 1974 home last October, adding new hardwood floors and a wraparound porch with stunning views of the nearby mountains and the Wragg Canyon section of the lake.

Brown, a registered nurse, got home too late from work to drive up to her house and save any valuables before evacuating. She said she was in shock when she first viewed her home last week.

"I was crying, I couldn't believe it. It felt like a bad dream, a nightmare," Brown said. "I guess I'm kind of over it, there's nothing I can do."

Cal Fire firefighter Phillip Radford and others helped Brown and her cousin, Christopher Moulton, sift through the ashy rubble looking for sentimental items. She was pleased to find some of her grandmother's jewelry, a ceramic tea set and a few other treasured items. Brown plans to rebuild on the same idyllic spot.

"It's actually just as much healing for us to help. You feel helpless when you can't save something." Radford told Brown.

Marcia Ritz, 77, and her husband Jerry Rehmke, 80, who married last year, were luckier than many. Or at least half as lucky.

The couple's store, The Spanish Flat Country Store and Deli, was left standing after the Hennessey Fire swept through the tiny community on the western shore of Lake Berryessa. But almost everything else in the neighborhood -- including the mobile home park where Ritz lived -- was destroyed. Also badly damaged were the small hillside communities off of Berryessa Knoxville Road.

"I'm an artist. I lost all of my artwork. I lost all of my friend's original art that I had, and everything I owned," Ritz said.

Now, Ritz, originally from San Leandro, thinks she'll have to close her business in the close-knit Lake Berryessa town of about 1,700. It recently started booming as the lake became an even more popular spot for people to get away from it all and socially distance during the pandemic.

"There is no customer base. There are maybe two houses remaining on the hill," she said, waving her hand to gesture down Berryessa Knoxville Road.

Still, Ritz is glad to have her life, and the lives of her friends. It was a close call. As the fire surrounded them, she, Rehmke and eight others boarded a pontoon boat and headed to the middle of the lake, where for four or five hours they stared in awe and terror at the towering flames as the hills around them burned.

Marty Rodden, owner of Lake Berryessa Boat and Jet Ski Rentals, was spared the loss of his home in Berryessa Highlands and his business in Spanish Flat near the country store. Rodden, who grew up in Oakland near Lake Merritt, began the business 27 years ago. Five of his employees' houses burned, and all of the homes from two houses above him are gone.

"I was very, very fortunate," Rodden said. "It was terrifying, and now it's heartbreaking. Everybody knows everybody up here."

He evacuated and came back two days later, but then police told him he had 20 minutes to leave.

"I grabbed my clothes and animals and left. I was the last car out. There were 200-foot flames. I couldn't even see the top of them," Rodden said. " I've been evacuated six times in five years. Everything's drying out, and every year we're having more and more and more fires."

Rodden is back home now and estimates he's lost about $500,000 so far from cancellations, including some $100,000 for the Labor Day weekend alone. Although he lost a month's worth of business when shelter-in-place orders were issued in March he said rental sales recovered and actually were up 20% as people sought a break from the pandemic lockdown. Every weekend before the fire was like a holiday, with complete sellouts of boat rentals, he added.

"We're not going to have a Labor Day weekend. There is no Labor Day," Rodden said.

Looking forward, Napa County will seek bids in November for three resort concessions on the federally-owned and managed land. Rancho Monticello, Spanish Flat and Steele Park will all be brand new and get 50-year contracts, and Rodden hopes to lease one of them as the lake rebuilds.

"I love my business and I love the people up here. It's quiet, it's peaceful, it's beautiful, we live in a piece of paradise," Rodden said.

Staff reporter Annie Sciacca contributed to this report.

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