We are Nick and Sam, well established Knights Valley residents. We lived for years on a 1300 acre ranch in the middle of the valley where Nick was employed by a local wine conglomerate. Part of Nick’s job in Knights Valley was managing the non-vineyard operations of that ranch. He was also involved with project coordinating and construction management on that ranch and elsewhere. Additionally he was a credentialed wildland firefighter on that company’s private fire brigade, where he refined and practiced fire prevention and direct action techniques in response to wildfires in the area. He also designed and developed the Perimeter Defense System used by that company to help protect valued assets from wildfires.

During our time in the valley we’ve experienced many natural disasters and evacuations, including the Kincaid fire that burned within one thousand yards of our home. During that event Nick and Sam were of the few residents of the valley that didn’t evacuate. Instead they maintained watch over “their” ranch and liasoned with CalFire, helping them with access and local knowledge of their and neighboring ranches in Knights Valley. The power and communication outages caused by that fire spurred Nick to get licensed for GMRS and ham radio for use in emergency communications, and to start the neighborhood GMRS radio groups for Knights and Franz Valleys. Nick also served on the Board of Directors for the Knights Valley Volunteer Fire Station. Nick is also active in Sonoma County ACS and Calistoga CERT.

When Nick was let go from the wine conglomerate, we prioritized staying in the valley to maintain our ties to the Knights Valley community and to stay near Sam’s work at Knights Bridge Winery. Driving this is Nick’s ongoing efforts with emergency management and preparedness within Sonoma County and with the Knights Valley community. Nick is advancing his wildland firefighting credentials while Sam will start with hers. Nick is also working on organizing a Knights Valley neighborhood response group, made up of residents that can pool resources and respond during emergencies and natural disasters affecting Knights Valley. See the Community Resiliency page for more information and ways to participate.

And now Nick is able to offer his services to ranch and property owners in Knights Valley, especially to smaller property and absentee owners that can’t justify full time managers. How can we help you?