Napa Area Picks Up After Earthquake

Aug. 25--NAPA -- After spending a day cleaning up the mess left by the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked much of the Bay Area and injured more than 200 people, Napa businesses and residents were still picking up Monday and figuring out what comes next.

Some found themselves without water. Red-tagged buildings, like the county courthouse, were deemed too dangerous to use. Up to 30 building inspectors from the Office of Emergency Services were planning to be in Napa.

And school for Napa students was canceled for the day Monday, with no word yet on when students and teachers could arrive for their first day.

Sunday morning's quake, believed to have originated on the West Napa Fault, caused a fire that destroyed six residences at a Napa mobile home park, damaged dozens of homes and buildings in Napa and Vallejo and knocked out power to thousands. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

A 13-year-old Napa boy struck by a crumbling chimney during a slumber party at his home was listed in serious condition Monday at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, hospital officials said.

The boy, Nicholas Dillon, was one of two patients initially admitted in critical condition at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. The other patient, whom hospital officials would not identify, remained in critical condition Monday, but was recovering and was expected to survive.

In all, the hospital treated 208 patients Sunday, most with injures that were not life-threatening. They suffered concussions, cuts, bruises and broken bones after being struck by debris -- or they got hurt while trying to clean up, officials said.

Seventeen people were admitted with serious injuries, including broken bones.

A 31-year-old woman, Leigh McDermott, was taken off life support at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa about 3:15 p.m. Sunday after apparently suffering a heart attack or some other medical emergency, said her father, Michael McDermott.

McDermott said he and his wife had been trapped by a fallen dresser for about 10 minutes following the quake. When they got to their daughter's room, she was not breathing. It took paramedics at least 20 minutes to get to their home on Presidio Way, he said, in part because phones were down.

Hospital officials said it was not clear whether Leigh McDermott's death was related to the quake.

As the sun rose Monday in downtown Napa, garbage workers made their rounds cautiously, worrying at times that pulling dumpsters away from cracked walls could send them tumbling down. The streets were otherwise empty -- and reasonably clean considering the damage caused by the temblor. Most shops were boarded up.

About 90 to 100 homes throughout the region had been red-tagged. Napa officials said they had completed inspections of only one-third of the city's buildings.

The quake knocked out power to 70,000 homes and businesses across a wide swath of the North Bay. As of Monday morning, only about 100 customers remained without power and were expected to have service restored shortly.

Some businesses wasted no time getting ready for customers. Some had already reopened Sunday evening -- in many cases after receiving help from others cleaning up.

The Bellisimo Deli on Main Street threw open its doors late Sunday, though there was still some cleaning to be done and stock was short.

Downtown Joe's Brewery and Restaurant on Napa's Main Street was hopping Sunday night.

Its outdoor patio had a good view of the fallen third story corner of a brick building whose roof hung precariously intact. Tourists, policemen and locals strode by, documenting destruction with their phones.

The hangout lost a lot of inventory -- a lot of alcohol fell off the bar and a keg exploded -- but employees and even some of its regulars dropped by shortly after the quake to get things cleaned up, said manager Ki Seh Brown.

It's a family-run place, but also, "It's kind of Napa's neighborhood spot," Brown said.

Lucero Olive Oil lost at least $10,000 in goods, mainly olive oil and balsamic vinegar, said manager David Gadlin. But workers were planning to open the doors Monday.

"We lost over 80 percent of our inventory, but it could be worse," he said.

Gadlin arrived at the store by 4 a.m. Sunday and the staff spent the whole day cleaning up the store. They used cat litter to soak up the massive amounts of spilled olive oil. Gadlin said they planned to clean well into the night.

Napa Valley Traditions, a gift shop, has seen its share of natural disasters in its 21 years -- two earthquakes and at least three floods, its owner, Cheryl Richburg said.

Sunday afternoon, Richburg and her brother were still cleaning up plates, cups and wine glasses that had fallen off the shelves in pretty much the same pattern as they did during last earthquake to hit the shop in 2000.

Richburg said she would be open selling greeting cards and other undamaged stock Monday. Like many businesses in Napa county, she doesn't have earthquake insurance.

"It's a mess but it's not as bad as a flood," she said.

In Vallejo, 41 buildings were damaged, causing at least $5 million in damage, according to city officials. One building on the 400 block of Georgia Street with eight residential units and one commercial unit was evacuated because of structural concerns.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Henry K. Lee contributed to this report.

Greta Kaul, Kristen V. Brown, Will Kane and Marisa Lagos are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: gkaul@sfchronicle.com, kbrown@sfchronicle.com, wkane@sfchronicle.com and mlagos@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @gretakaul @kristenvbrown @WillKane @mlagos

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