A look at damage, recovery 1 month after South Napa Quake

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- It's been one month since the Napa area was hit by a powerful 6.0 earthquake that shook people out of bed throughout the Bay Area.

One month later, Napa estimates the damage from that quake to be $300 million, if not more. FEMA has come through for the city and county, but not for business owners or individuals.

If one fallen structure can serve as a poster child for an earthquake, this might be it. The Pfeiffer Building in downtown Napa was once a brewery and a brothel, and most recently it was a wine tasting room. And now, it's a headache for the man who ran it.

"It really has given me new perspective," said Vintner's Collective owner Garret Murphy.

Until 30 days ago, Murphy had it made in a business sense, selling high end boutique wines. But now, with the red tag, getting his business up and running has become more complex than the finest cabernet.

"My good friend owns the building," he said. "He is moving as fast as he can, but this is a national landmark so you can't just rebuild the building."

It's a description that fits Napa as well. In the business district, they use the term "propping up" both literally and figuratively.

Just ask Linda Cordair, who finally took one day off after a month of trying to reopen her art gallery.

Freedman: "What was your deadline?"

Cordair: "Oct. 1."

Freedman: "Are you gonna make it?"

Cordair: "Very close."

In quake-ravaged Napa, that's progress. Tourists still come. Not as many, but some who do not complain about what they're missing.

"Well it would have been a little different, but there are lots of places to go around here," said tourist Chris Sobak.

Some Napa suburbs would not be among them. Despite appearances, many remain a less-than-uplifting experience. Not with PG&E fixing gas lines, or sidewalks that might better serve as skateboard ramps. But it's progress from what we found a month ago.

As homeowner Sharon Kastner told us Wednesday, such images and memories don't just go away.

"Everybody's still on edge and rattled," she said. "And a little bit of noise drives us all crazy."

They say that what goes up eventually comes down. And 30 days after, Napa knows all about that. It also knows how that which fell, can also go up again.

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