Napa residents cobble together Thanksgiving despite quake damage

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- NapaStrong, a phrase that emerged after the devastating earthquake in August, and that theme is resonating again as families gather for Thanksgiving dinner. Many would have pulled out their fine china and stem ware, but a lot of it was lost in the quake.

Damage left from the large earthquake in August is evident all over Downtown Napa. The city is still rebuilding and so are its residents. Inside homes Thursday, giving thanks means more than ever before.

"We have more to be thankful for because we were all so lucky," Napa resident Robin Hart said.

Nothing was going to stop Hart from hosting Thanksgiving dinner, even without some of her favorite, rare glassware.

"A couple of those fell over, I lost three wine glasses," Hart said.

Antiques shattered, electronics broke, but no one was hurt. It was a lot worse for so many others in Napa.

There are those who still can't get back into their homes or near their things. A few ended up around Hart's table on Thanksgiving.

"I'm very thankful for Thanksgiving because we have each other and we've come through, we've dusted, cleaned up," Liz Alessio, a Napa resident said.

For others, not' being home where the devastation hit hardest was actually a good thing. Celadon restaurant in downtown Napa, was packed Thursday night.

"I was quite traumatized through that earthquake," Napa resident Billie Grimoldi said.

Three generations of Napa natives are at Grimoldi's table. They're celebrating surviving one of the worst nights of their lives.

"It looked like a cyclone had hit. Every room was really demolished," Grimoldi added. "I don't want to feel that earthquake again."

Thanksgiving started off shaky for a lot of people in the Napa area. There were two small earthquakes Thursday. The largest was a 3.1 magnitude.

The tremors have now prompted the hashtag, Quakesgiving, on Twitter. No new damage was reported Thursday.