Rebirth, angst and the 'new normal' of California wildfires

Tina Chandler walks outside her home and sniffs the air. "Do you smell smoke?" she asks.

Even when the scent is no longer there, it haunts her. So does the fear of the monstrous winds of autumn, the kind that stoked the wildfires that destroyed her northern California neighborhood once and, in recent days, threatened it yet again. "That wind and the stink," she says, frowning.

Two years ago, the Chandlers had only minutes to escape before their longtime family home burned to the ground before their eyes. They rose from the ashes to build a new home. Their two sons bought lots down the street, one starting his home.

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, photo, members of the Chandler family, father Joel and sons Bobbie and Dale, and their construction crew build a home in Calistoga, Calif. They have taken on construction jobs while rebuilding and building their own homes in Santa Rosa. The Chandler family home of 20 years and thousands of other structures were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire and other wine country wildfires of 2017. The Chandler family rose from the ashes, rebuilding after losing their longtime family home to in the devastating firestorms that swept across California wine country in 2017. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

Then, in recent weeks, they spent tense days watching the orange glow of the Kincade Fire rise behind a ridge near the new homes in their once-flattened neighborhood.

California has long been seen as a golden land of opportunity. But this "new normal" — fires of enormous size and ferocity — is making everyone edgy and causing some to flee.

For the many others who remain, it means a life interrupted by electrical outages, the utility company's attempt to prevent power lines from sparking fires in the high winds. It means readying "fire Totes" that contain important documents and keepsakes. It is food lines and pop-up assistance centers and having counselors and comfort dogs at the ready when children return to school after evacuation. It is sprinkler installation and built-in tactics to combat fire, trimming vegetation vigilantly and creating "defensible space" around homes, now a regular topic of conversation between neighbors.

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, photo, Bobbie Chandler, left, and his wife, Jenna, stand in the home they are building in Santa Rosa, Calif. Bobbie's parents' home of 20 years and thousands of other structures were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire and other wine country wildfires of 2017. Bobbie and Jenna bought a lot on their parents' block where a home was destroyed by fire. His brother, Dale, and wife Katrina also bought a lot on the street and plan to build a home there. The Chandler family rose from the ashes, rebuilding after losing their longtime family home to in the devastating firestorms that swept across California wine country in 2017. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

This Fountaingrove section of Santa Rosa in California's wine country was one of the neighborhoods turned to piles of ash and debris by the now infamous Tubbs Fire of 2017. It had been the most destructive wildfire in California history, until last year, when the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, to the north, killing 85 people.

In the end, the loss from the Kincade Fire was not as great for many reasons — from lessons firefighters learned and more precise wind forecasts to a bit of luck. Fire crews fought like mad to save places like the town of Windsor, just north of Santa Rosa, but were unable to stop the flames from overtaking some homes and other structures, including an old general store and post office built in 1869 in Healdsburg that had become the main building for the Soda Rock Winery.

After the fire, Soda Rock owner Ken Wilson measured the remaining stone facade, determined to save and reinforce it to withstand earthquakes. Signs on the nearby roadside announced wine tastings: "RECOVERY BEGINS!" Many have stopped in.

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, photo, Bobbie Chandler stands in the home he and his wife Jenna, are building in Santa Rosa, Calif. Bobbie's parents' home of 20 years and thousands of other structures were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire and other wine country wildfires of 2017. The Chandler family rose from the ashes, rebuilding after losing their longtime family home to in the devastating firestorms that swept across California wine country in 2017. So as Bobbie Chandler nervously watched the orange glow of the Kincade Fire behind the ridge above the home he and his wife are building down the street from his parents, his gut twisted. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

"This is what I call resiliency!" one customer said as he arrived.

Wilson, a Canadian who moved to Sonoma County in 1979, explained that this was how he started tastings with his first winery in 1998 — "a plank and two barrels and we were in business."

Emily McCutchan, a fifth-generation resident of Sonoma County who lives in Windsor, stopped in to see the damage at Soda Rock, having just returned from a trip to Italy. She cried when she saw the ruins and met Wilson with an embrace. "It's so sad," she said.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, photo, a new home construction project sits on a hilltop in Santa Rosa, Calif. Many homes in the city were destroyed during the Tubbs Fire of 2017, and many of those homes are still being replaced and rebuilt. This Fountaingrove section of Santa Rosa in California's wine country was one of the neighborhoods turned to piles of ash and debris by the now infamous Tubbs Fire of 2017. It had been the most destructive wildfire in California history, until last year, when the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, to the north, killing 86 people. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

This new normal everyone talks about now is hard to take. But she said she won't leave the county during fire season again. She will stand with her people. "It's your home, your community, your family," she said. "You don't just run when things get hard, right?"

Wilson also has watched grape vines come back, even after fire. The roots go too deep. "Hard to kill a grape vine," he said.

The ties of the Chandler family — Tina, husband Joel and their two sons and wives — also run deep here. They own a construction business and, since the Tubbs Fire, have helped rebuild their own neighborhood as well as other homes in Sonoma County. Son Dale and his wife, Katrina, have purchased a lot across the street from his parents. A few houses down, son Bobbie and his wife, Jenna, are finishing the framing on their own home after work, hurrying to finish the roof before rainy season begins. They live in a trailer behind the home.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, photo, yellow tape from the Kincade Fire surrounds the old general store and post office built in 1869, that had become the main building for the Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg, Calif. This Fountaingrove section of Santa Rosa in California's wine country was one of the neighborhoods turned to piles of ash and debris by the now infamous Tubbs Fire of 2017. It had been the most destructive wildfire in California history, until last year, when the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, to the north, killing 86 people. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

When they came to help his parents evacuate that early morning in 2017, Tina was still in her nightgown and flip-flops because there simply was no time to change. They grabbed their dogs and locked the front door. "We'll be back," Tina thought. Then, stuck in the crush of evacuee traffic, they watched in horror as flames engulfed their family home of more than 20 years.

"It wasn't so much tears. It was physical sickness," Bobbie Chandler, now 27, said, describing how he and his wife both vomited out the windows of their truck in response. "Because of the adrenaline, the smoke, we lost all control."

So when a new evacuation order came in late October, Bobbie's gut twisted again as he and his family watched that orange glow of the Kincade Fire.

In this Tuesday Nov. 5, 2019, photo, the grape vineyards stand, right, among the destruction of the main building of the Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg Calif. This Fountaingrove section of Santa Rosa in California's wine country was one of the neighborhoods turned to piles of ash and debris by the now infamous Tubbs Fire of 2017. It had been the most destructive wildfire in California history, until last year, when the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, to the north, killing 86 people. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

"As soon as I saw that glow, my phone rang," Bobbie said. "And it was a sheriff deputy friend of mine saying that there was a fire in Geyserville."

Jenna added: "It was like bad deja vu."

Most of the family and some neighbors decided to stay this time, ignoring an evacuation order since the fire was farther away. They took three-hour night watch shifts. Joel Chandler and others used water from a swimming pool and other sources to wet the ground around their homes and the wood of Bobbie and Jenna's unfinished house. Bobbie and Jenna stayed up for 48 hours straight, fearing the power lines that swayed above their trailer might snap.

FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, photo, Bobbie Chandler stands outside the home he and his wife, Jenna, are building in Santa Rosa, Calif. Bobbie's parents' home of 20 years and thousands of other structures were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire and other wine country wildfires of 2017. Bobbie and Jenna bought a lot on their parents' block where a home was destroyed by fire. His brother, Dale, and wife Katrina also bought a lot on the street and plan to build a home there. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

The stress generally brought people together.

Now on Wednesday nights, residents gather for a wine party. Many younger families have moved in, now able to live in a place that was, for them, unaffordable before the fires. Bobbie is reluctant to talk about silver linings "because there's people and things that can't be replaced."

"Healing takes a long time, and it happens in a lot of ways," he said. But he's grateful to be here, with his family all on one street. For him, they — more than the house — are home.

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, photo, Bobbie Chandler, and his wife, Jenna, work in the home they are building in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. Bobbie's parents' home of 20 years and thousands of other structures were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire and other wine country wildfires of 2017. Bobbie and Jenna bought a lot on their parents' block where a home was destroyed by fire. His brother, Dale, and wife Katrina also bought a lot on the street and plan to build a home there. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

His mom wants to stay, too, but she hasn't been sleeping well since the Kincade Fire dredged up old anxieties.

This isn't the mellow California she's always loved. "I don't want to live scared," the 54-year-old mom said. "But where would we go?"

The night of the fire she packed a framed family photo from Dale and Katrina's wedding, along with a box of kukui nut necklaces that a friend had sent from Hawaii after they lost their home. "I know that sounds kind of silly," she said of the black shiny nuts, which represent hope and renewal. "But this was their way of saying 'We're going to be all right.'"

In this Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, photo, Ken Wilson, owner of the Soda Rock Winery, surveys debris from the winery's main building in Healdsburg, Calif. The 1869 building, destroyed by the Kincade wildfire, was originally a general store and post office. After the fire,Wilson and his staff immediately reopened with free wine tastings to begin their recovery. Signs on the nearby roadside announced wine tastings: "RECOVERY BEGINS!" Many have stopped in. "This is what I call resiliency!" one customer said as he arrived. Wilson, a Canadian who moved to Sonoma County in 1979, explained that this was how he started tastings with his first winery in 1998, "a plank and two barrels and we were in business. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

She still thinks about items they lost in the 2017 fires that can't be replaced, like her boys' baby books. She can recall their birth weights, but not their lengths. "As a mom, you want to remember that stuff," she said, her eyes filling with tears.

She paused for a moment as she stood in her new kitchen. And she asked again: "Do you smell smoke?"

Martha Irvine, an AP national writer and visual journalists, can be reached at mirvine@ap.org or at http://twitter.com/irvineap.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, photo, kindergartner age children from Healdsburg Elementary School get comfort from "Rudy," a therapeutic dog from Paws of Assistance Loving Support, on their first day back to school since the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg Calif. Many of the children suffer from PTSD symptoms due to the frequency of the fires in the area. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

In this Tuesday Nov. 5, 2019, photo, the sunsets across the destruction of the main building that was built in 1869 which became the Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg, Calif. In the end, the loss from the Kincade Fire was not as great for many reasons, from lessons firefighters learned and more precise wind forecasts to a bit of luck. Fire crews fought like mad to save places like the town of Windsor, just north of Santa Rosa, but were unable to stop the flames from overtaking some homes and other structures, including this old general store and post office built in 1869 in Healdsburg that had become the main building for the Soda Rock Winery. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, photo, Paws of Assitance Loving Support volunteer, Pam Frank, left, and "Rudy," a support dog, are escorted by school principal, Jeff Franey to different classrooms at Healdsburg Elementary School in Healdsburg Calif. The children were greeted by Rudy on their first day back to school since the Kincade Fire. Many of the children suffer from PTSD due to the frequency of the fires in the area. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

In this Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, photo, Ken Wilson, owner of the Soda Rock Winery, measures the old stone facade of the winery's main building in Healdsburg, Calif. The building, destroyed by the Kincade wildfire, was originally a general store and post office, built in 1869. After the fire, Soda Rock owner Ken Wilson determined to save it and reinforce it to withstand earthquakes. Signs on the nearby roadside announced wine tastings: "RECOVERY BEGINS!" Many have stopped in. "This is what I call resiliency!" one customer said as he arrived. Wilson, a Canadian who moved to Sonoma County in 1979, explained that this was how he started tastings with his first winery in 1998, "a plank and two barrels and we were in business. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

In this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, photo, Kindergartner Evangeline Flores, far right, looks eye in eye with "Rudy," a support dog from Paws of Assitance Loving Support on the children's first day back to school since the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, Calif. Many of the children suffer from PTSD symptoms due to the frequency of the fires in the area. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

In this Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, photo, builders work on a new home in Santa Rosa, Calif. Many homes in the city were destroyed during the Tubbs Fire of 2017, and many of those homes are still being replaced and rebuilt. This Fountaingrove section of Santa Rosa in California's wine country was one of the neighborhoods turned to piles of ash and debris by the now infamous Tubbs Fire of 2017. It had been the most destructive wildfire in California history, until last year, when the Camp Fire ravaged the town of Paradise, to the north, killing 86 people. (AP PhotoLacy Atkins)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)