Callaway Vineyard & Winery sustained minor damage Sunday as the result of a 25-acre brush fire in the Temecula Valley Wine Country that darkened the skies with black smoke.
The so-called “Serena Fire” was reported at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 32700 block of Rancho California Road in an area directly adjacent to the Callaway vineyards, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. That location is east of Butterfield Stage Road, where the wine region begins. In addition to Callaway, there are several other vineyards, wineries and resorts in the immediate vicinity including the wineries of Thornton, Churon, Miramonte, Bel Vino and Europa Village, among others.
At the initial time of report, the fire was burning between 5 and 7 acres, but grew to 25 before the forward rate of spread was stopped around 4 p.m.
Fire danger in the region on Sunday was considered “extreme,” due to temperatures in the mid-80s and dry conditions, including humidity below 10% earlier in the day. Winds out of the southwest blew at up to 10 to 15 miles per hour.
“On behalf of Callaway Winery we want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to CalFire for acting so quickly in putting out this fire! Words cannot express how grateful we are for the dedication, skills and commitment to keeping our community safe! Callaway will be closed for the remainder of the day but we’ll be open Monday at our normal time. See you soon!” the winery posted on its Instagram account.
According to the Callaway Instagram page, only a few grapevines were affected by the fire. Video of the blaze near the vineyards was available at @callawaywinery.
Firefighters expected to remain on scene for several hours for full containment and mop-up.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
No injuries were reported.