Harvest season in Northern California’s wine country is what dream weddings are made of: ripe grapevines and golden sunsets provide ceremonies an alluring backdrop that every year draws millions of visitors.

But harvest season now overlaps with fire season as wildfires, too, have become a yearly reality in the region.

In three of the past four years, major wildfires driven by a changing climate have devastated parts of the world-famous region, leaving little doubt that it’s vulnerable to smoke, flames and blackouts in the fall.

Last month, firefighters were still mopping up a blaze that took a disastrous toll in Napa Valley when the region was put on edge again by hot, dry and windy weather. Thousands were without power when Pacific Gas & Electric utility cut off service to prevent the winds from downing lines and sparking another inferno.

After seeing news images of burning wineries and people fleeing their homes, Ash Mintern decided to postpone a romantic getaway to wine country from Tampa, Florida to propose to his girlfriend.

“When I saw that people were evacuating out of the area, I didn’t want to take a risk,” Mintern said.

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