The measure, sponsored by Rep. Mike Thompson (D), would allow growers in Lake and Mendocino counties to be eligible for emergency federal funding to compensate them for losses after their grapes were rejected by wineries during last year’s harvest because of smoke damage to their crop from the Mendocino Complex fires in the summer.
“People who have survived devastating disasters, like the fires our district has endured over the last several years, deserve to know their government is fighting to help them recover,” Thompson said in a prepared statement.
Lake County Winegrape Commission says growers in the county lost at least $37.1 million from smoke-tainted grapes from the 2018 crop. The 2017 crop was valued at $84 million before those grapes were turned into wine.