Soledad, Calif- Local wineries are making changes because of the Gloria Fire. Agricultural fireworks are blamed for sparking last week's fire. Because of the devastating Gloria Fire, wineries are now starting to reconsider some of their bird control methods. The Hahn Estates Winery in Soledad, used to use agricultural fireworks, but since the fire has stopped using all pyrotechnic methods.
Andy Mitchell remembers seeing the first flames crest over the mountain at the Gloria Fire, "It's a bit of a wake up call, some of the practices that we've done in the past we need to take a hard look at and going forward we are going to use some of the resources that make more sense," said Mitchell who works as a vineyard manager.
Hahn Estates Winery like many other wineries often used agricultural fireworks to scare birds away from the vineyard, "As the grapes get more valuable the need to protect them has gotten
Stronger," said Mitchell. Without agriculture fireworks, the winery is turning to other forms of bird control. Since 2007 they have used falcons to help scare away the birds," We're talking about using radio communication between our irrigators, between ranch personnel and working with the falconer, and getting him to where most of the bird activity is," said Mitchell.
Bird cannons are also placed around the vineyard, "It's pressurized gas, the pressure builds up till it reaches a point, and it releases quickly," said Mitchell. The boom goes off randomly, it's environmentally friendly and keeps birds from eating and contaminating the grapes. While the alternatives to fireworks are more expensive, they're worth it. "If a fire was to break out and it was caused by one of our workers, there's some major liability there," said Mitchell.
