Rebuild: Disaster impacted Sonoma County adventure companies find hope in re-creation

As owners of a Sonoma Valley bike tour business, Hunt and Yuni Bailie have to be ready for anything: inclement weather, last-minute cancellations and, of course, flat tires.

Nothing, however, prepared the couple for the October 2017 firestorms, which brought Sonoma Adventures, the company they founded in 2005, to a complete stop.

As fires raged, people canceled tours or decided against coming to Sonoma Valley altogether. Days turned into weeks with no customers, forcing the Bailies to lay off their employees and leverage their home to keep from going under.

It wasn’t until 52 days after the firestorms broke out that anyone booked a bike rental through the company, and even then, it was just one couple out for a ride.

“It was a double whammy,” Hunt Bailie said. “Not only did we stop getting new tours, we had to fork it all back over.”

They weren’t alone. Across Sonoma County, outdoor recreation companies faced unprecedented challenges from the 2017 firestorms. Some did not make it, but for those that survived, 2018 brought fresh trials in the form of choking smoke from the Camp fire in Butte County. That was followed this winter by the most severe flooding of the Russian River in 25 years.

Combined, the natural disasters have been a major disruption to the local outdoor recreation industry, which is a significant driver of the county’s $1.93 billion tourism industry. Outdoor concessions employ an estimated 4,300 people and add $731 million a year to the economy, according to a 2018 report by Sonoma County’s Economic Development Board.

And today, more than 18 months after the 2017 fires and two months after the floodwaters receded, perceptions linger among some potential visitors that the county still isn’t open for business.

“To this day, people call us up and say, ‘Are you all right? Did the place burn down?’?” said Randy Johnson, owner of Getaway Adventures, an outdoor recreation company offering kayak, hiking and biking tours in west Sonoma County.

In the aftermath of the natural disasters, business owners have walked a fine line between promoting Sonoma County as an adventurer’s paradise and being sensitive to the loss of property and life. At the same time, the labor market has gotten even tighter, in part because of people moving away for more affordable communities and more available housing.

Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds, which operates a campground and popular zip line tours in the redwood-covered hills near Occidental, was forced to shut down after the 2017 fires broke out. Although flames did not directly threaten the site, managers worried about visitors driving along rural roads where emergency crews raced to blazes.

The nonprofit organization opened the 450-person campground to first responders, serving about 3,500 firefighters over the course of several days. About 100 fire victims also found comfort and shelter at the campground.

The Alliance lost about two months’ worth of zip line and campground revenue, according to Joel Hurst, general manager of Sonoma Canopy Tours. He said the organization did not hesitate to issue refunds for cancellations.

“People were using money to help victims, and rightly so,” he said. “We understood that, and we tried to be sensitive to that.”

Johnson, the owner of Getaway Adventures, said his customer base has been 30% below normal since 2017 because of the firestorms, including those that burned elsewhere in California last summer but sent smoke into the Bay Area, North Bay and beyond. And with every disaster, it gets harder finding and keeping employees, he said.

“Between the fires and the floods, they’re throwing in the white flag,” Johnson said.

According to the county economic report, Sonoma County has an estimated 333 outdoor recreation businesses, including local manufacturers like Camelbak and Marmot.

Outdoor activities companies that have weathered the storms offer insight into survival. For some, the process has entailed a complete reimagining of the business model.

Michelle Rogers, a Sonoma Valley equestrian, is launching her own trail riding business, more than a year after fires threatened a similar outfit she helped manage in Napa Valley. Rogers purchased 11 horses, a trailer and a pickup for hauling to the vineyard estates where riding will be paired with wine tasting and perusing fine art.

While bookings have been brisk, Rogers has been forced to push the launch date back while waiting for trails to dry out from heavy winter rains.

“It was a perfect year to open up a trail riding business,” she said with a laugh.

Likewise, the torrential winter rains that took a major toll on Russian River communities are posing new challenges for outdoor recreation operators, such as potholes where none existed before - or beaches that were washed away.

But Johnson said bookings through Getaway Adventures are off to a strong start in 2019.

“I think it’s going to be a good year,” he said. Cycling, hiking and water recreation were identified in the county economic report as having the biggest growth potential.

Having survived calamity, the Bailies are positioned well for future success. The couple recently acquired another Sonoma Valley bike rental operation, giving them a brick-and-mortar presence in the city of Sonoma.

“It looks great,” Hunt Bailie said of the start to 2019. “People are booking like normal.”