Among the thousands of people who lost everything in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, Josh and Regina Silvers were exceptionally lucky. And they don’t take their good fortune for granted.
The couple was on the verge of moving into an old house they owned in the Mark West Springs area north of Santa Rosa when one of the most ferocious wildfires in California history—fueled by gale-force winds—raced over the Mayacamas from Calistoga, destroying more than 5,000 structures, including their house. A tenant who had been living there had all but moved out, so it was nearly empty and unoccupied.
“The house completely burned down. The only thing left was a little bit of chimney. We couldn’t even find the well,” Josh says. “We had to drill a new one, which actually worked out better for us.”…