The Napa, Calif., property had been closed from October 9-24 after a wildfire caused damage to the property just hours after the final round of the Safeway Open on October 8. Staff extinguished about 30 small fires around the property, using fire extinguishers, shovels, a garden hose, and a sprinkler system set up on top of the mansion.
Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif., has reopened after a wildfire caused damage to the property just a few hours after the final round of the Safeway Open, the season-opening event on the PGA Tour’s 2017-18 schedule, on October 8, the Napa Valley Register reported.
Fires burned around the resort, at Milliken Creek below the mansion and near the entrance to Silverado. The sky boxes on No. 17 of the North Course, the tournament course, burned to the ground. The fires began several hours after the conclusion of the Safeway Open, a $6.2 million event, which was won for the second year in a row by Brendan Steele, the Register reported.
C&RB reported on the blaze at the time.
“Throughout the course of that night, we put out approximately 30 small fires around the property,” said General Manager John Evans. “The team was running on instincts, adrenaline, but in a very calm manner throughout. There was just so much to take care of, that you really couldn’t get rattled about it.
“You had to just keep prioritizing and working on those fires that you thought were going to endanger the mansion or the assets of the resort,” Evans said.
None of the permanent structures at Silverado were damaged by fire. The wildfires caused the resort to be closed from October 9-24, and re-opened to guests on October 25. Both the North and South Courses are currently open for play, the Register reported.
“It’s really due to the associates at Silverado Resort who worked exceptionally hard to put this resort back into shape, to welcome guests,” said Evans.
Evans worked closely with other resort staff—including Jeff Van Paris, director of security, Roy Powell and Rob Sherman, who are with the engineering department, and Resort Manager Adrian Gonzalez—to battle the fires. They used fire extinguishers and shovels, and a garden hose. They set up a sprinkler system on top of the mansion and began hosing down the mansion, the Register reported.
“We elected to start watering the area down real heavily,” said Evans. “The area behind the mansion had started to burn significantly. We put it out four different times over an eight-hour period. The air was filled with embers. It was igniting fires throughout the area.”
Silverado received assistance from a local fire department. The fire burned right up to the base of the sidewalk that borders the mansion, said Evans. There was some smoke damage to the resort. A disaster recovery company has been working on the property for the last week. Eight condominiums in the Oak Creek area were destroyed by the fire, officials said. Condominiums in the Oaks area also were lost, the Register reported.
The par-4 17th hole on the North Course has been turned into a temporary par-3 hole for safety purposes. Silverado is getting bids to replace a bridge on the North Course, between the 14th and 15th holes, that burned in the fires, Evans said. The grounds department has been doing a clean-up of the North Course, which re-opened on Saturday after experiencing wind damage, the Register reported.
“It’s difficult to describe the amount of limbs and trees and debris that is being taken off the course to make it playable,” said Evans.
Executive Tournament Director Jeff Sanders announced on October 17 that the Safeway Open will donate $200,000 in support of fire relief efforts in Napa and Sonoma counties. Sanders is with Lagardere Sports & Entertainment, a golf event management company, the Register reported.
This is the fourth consecutive year of the PGA Tour at Silverado, which has a long history of having hosted professional tournament golf, dating to the late 1960s. The five-year agreement with Safeway as the title sponsor runs through 2020. The event is part of the FedExCup schedule, the Register reported.
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