A look at small businesses 1 year after Napa Quake

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- The most powerful quake to hit the Bay Area in nearly 25 years changed the community of Napa in seconds. As much as its people, the health of any city ties directly to small business. Napa is no different. When that 6.0 magnitude quake hit Napa this time last year, it didn't just rattle people and crumple buildings. It tested the small business owners in this community.

PHOTOS: One year after South Napa Quake

One year ago, portions of Napa looked like a disaster zone. But it's also true that if you really want to learn about yourself, survive a test. For small business owners in Napa, the last year has been one.

In Napa, any tourist will tell you the charm has returned. It's in the food, the wine, and maybe also in the stories that any local will share about that morning, one year ago today.

"It felt eerie," said one resident.

Another said, "Honest to God I thought it was an atomic bomb that went off,"

"Actually heard the city powering down," said one man. "Then explosions and blue lights coming up from the earth."

"I still wake up in the middle of the night and still imagine that the earth is shaking," said Patricia Trimble, owner of The Roost.

You probably saw the video last year and might have a sense from the images of ravaged Napa of how hard the quake hit. And then, like most of us, you moved on.

Not store owner Trimble. She still deals with aftermath every single day.

"I lost a lot, I lost about half of my inventory when all was said and done," she said.

That's including $11,000 worth of paint, all in 30 seconds. It remains there, an homage of sorts.

"A conversation piece," she said. "It shows the durability of the paint a year later."

Such are the earthquake stories Napa residents now tell and live.

For a few rare people, the quake that was so bad for business has also been good. In the old county jail, Charles Welchert of Dunne Right Construction is taking down every brick to ensure historical accuracy for a new building going up. It's been a busy year for him.

"Everybody's brick, chimney, stucco, the list goes on, man," he said. "It just goes on."

"We're about a month away from getting rid of the scaffolding," said Garret Murphy, who sells fine wines in what became an icon of the quake -- the Pfeiffer Building, which dates back to 1875 and looked pretty bad after the quake of 2014.

Imagine keeping a 13-year-old business alive when the building around it literally crumpled. But he is still here.

Freedman: "What has it taken for a business to survive in Napa this year?"

Garret: "You have to be established. You have to be strong. You have to be very perseverant. And you have to be tough."

That works for a man. And for this small city. It worked for Trimble, when she paid to replace a broken window by selling a postcard picture of the plywood covering it.

"It tells me if you don't give up and you just try, you can do it," she said. "You can do anything."

It's been said often that what does not kill us makes us stronger. The proof is Napa.

Trimble: "I have to say, I mean, the earthquake was a horrible thing but the community that I live in, I am really really very proud of."

Freedman: "Was it worth it?"

Trimble: "No! Kinda, I dunno!" she said with a laugh.

We are getting new details today about the damage caused by the quake. According to a new report from the California Earthquake Authority, 28 percent of homes damaged in the quake had chimney damage, 33 percent had large wall cracks both inside and outside, and 15-percent of damaged homes could not be fully re-occupied and were either yellow or red tagged.

Last year's quake left some wineries in shambles. Millions of dollars in wine poured onto floors after barrels toppled. Repairs are underway at Trefethen Family Vineyards after the quake twisted this building. In all, the quake cost Napa wineries about $80 million. Napa wineries generate about $13 billion a year in business. Most of the damaged wineries are back in business.

Work continues to repair Napa's First Presbyterian Church. The structure is on the national register of historic places. Inside, pews remain covered, stained glass windows broken and plaster walls crumbled. The church held services for 140 years before it was damaged. It will take $1.5 million to repair the building.

The Napa quake also rumbled through Vallejo, injuring 49 people and causing an estimated $5 million in damages. Most of the damage involved crumbled chimneys and brick walls, like one at the First United Methodist Church on Sonoma Boulevard. The Sonoma Boulevard exit on Highway 37 was closed due to safety concerns.

Click here for details on the one-year anniversary, and click here for full coverage on the South Napa Earthquake.

PHOTOS: South Napa Earthquake damage

PHOTOS: Six months after South Napa Earthquake