As a raging wildfire blew down to his property line Friday night, Bruce Fuller, owner of Rustico Farms and Cellars, stayed behind to protect his property. As he watched the fire, he decided to pour himself a glass of Last Chance, but realized he didn’t have a cork screw. He eventually found one. His vines, just a few feet from scorched ground and his winery were spared. (Richard McGuire photo)
After watching a raging inferno burn down the mountain and stop at his property line, you might think Bruce Fuller, owner of Rustico Farm and Cellars Estate Winery, would have safety on his mind.
A bigger concern was that he’d grabbed a bottle of his wine appropriately named Last Chance, but he couldn’t find an opener. The bottle had a cork.
The fire broke out late Friday afternoon and powerful winds swept it down the slope to his winery on the Golden Mile Bench between Osoyoos and Oliver.
Fuller got friends to take his horses and two dogs, but he chose to stay behind to protect his home and winery – even after the RCMP told him to evacuate.
“We had a sprinkler on our roof,” he said. “We have a grass roof on this log house. It’s a sod roof and some of those big embers were flying everywhere even though the fire wasn’t right at the house. And, of course, you’ve got to put that out.”
He was also worried that someone would break into his home and winery with all the wine unprotected.
He was, however, ready to leave at a moment’s notice if he had to.
“The truck was facing the right way,” said Fuller. “The keys were in the ignition and I had my computer and all my stuff in the back of the truck. I was ready to go.”
But the fire came about a foot through his fence, burned a horse shelter and stopped. Mere inches from the charred grass, his vines are still a lush green.
“Not even one grape was singed,” said Fuller. “All our vineyards were watered, so they’d be damp and the grass underneath the vineyards would be damp.”
Fuller kept an eye on things until almost 3 a.m. He says he never panicked, but was too caught up in the moment.
When things began to calm down, he felt like a drink of wine. And he had a case of Last Chance in his truck that he took down below with him.
“I decided I’m good to sit there and watch if everything burns, you can’t do anything about it,” he said. “Even the helicopters couldn’t. The winds were very high and dangerous.”
It was then that he realized he didn’t have a corkscrew.
“I didn’t want to use the technique of smacking the bottle with something so it pops open,” said Fuller. “So I got the golf cart and raced up to the winery, turned the alarm off, ran in and found an opener. Locked everything and ran back.”
Then he realized he had no glass or cup.
“Finally I searched the tractor and found a coffee mug,” he said. “So I thought, okay life is good now. I can sit here and watch the show.”
Fuller said he was calmer than he thought he would be. He watched the trees on the mountain above him candling as the fire continued to burn.
“Then everything was embers and it looked like you’re flying over New York City in the middle of the night,” recalled Fuller. “The whole hillside had little lights. It was actually quite pretty.”
His power was still on, and finally, close to 3 a.m. he made himself a light supper and went to bed with his clothes on – just in case.
“I had my sprinkler on the roof – chook-a-chook,” he said. “And that worked out just fine.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
