Explosion Of Wild Flowers Covering Scars Of Wine Country Fires
SONOMA (CBS SF) -- An explosion of Spring wildflowers was covering the scars Sunday left over from the deadly October wildfires that charred wide swaths of Sonoma County.
The beauty is not lost among those who survived the October blazes.
"The air is clear, the sky is blue with the clouds and the wildflowers are in bloom," Sonoma resident Margaret Smeaton said.
Crowds have returned to Sonoma Valley Regional Park, taking in the beauty.
Fields that were once ashen and bare are now blanketed with chest high grasses dancing in the breeze. And everywhere there are flowers -- Lupine, Fiddleneck and Poppies -- Mother Nature showing off her amazing powers of recovery.
"You can see it all around you," said Elizabeth Borden, visiting the area from Arizona. "The wildflowers are growing, the grasses are growing. It's only been since October so she's (Mother Nature) quick at her job."
A path, once charred and dead, has been reborn in lush greens. Only the Madrone bushes give a hint that something happened here. But if you look closely, you can see even they are making their journey back.
"It just feels very symbolic of, you know, here is rebirth," said Vanessa Weidauer, a Sonoma Valley resident.
Beyond their beauty, the flowers are a gentle reminder that, from adversity springs new possibilities.
"I think it just takes humans a lot more effort to reseed themselves, as they say," Bill, a Sonoma County resident said.
Smeaton agrees.
"They (local residents) need to see that recovery is true," she said. "Not only for nature, but applied to themselves -- recovery for themselves and their hearts (and) soul."