North Bay residents grateful for surviving deadly fires

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- With Thanksgiving week approaching, fire victims in Napa are taking stock of what they've been through and where they are headed as they navigate a difficult time.

Dan Harberts walked around his sprawling property, his two-family homes, a cottage, a two-story office building, an engraving shop and a chapel are all gone.

Then there are 20 acres of green cemetery plots all untouched by the fire at Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park, where 15,000 pets are buried here. And Harberts feels lucky the records were saved. His office manager routinely took home back up discs and the office computer.

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Harberts, his wife, and his 97-year-old mother were airlifted out in a CHP chopper.

There are other complications, urnes with pet ashes in them were in essence re-cremated during the fire and lost. It's been hard to break the news to those pet owners, but there are plans to build a memorial there.

David Harberts says once they get cleared by FEMA and the cleanup program, they hope to set up a temporary trailer on the property and open up for business.

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Dan Harberts says "My main goal right now is to keep our business alive and well and we're doing that, but on a personal level I've kicked the can down the road because I don't have time. I get too depressed. You've just got to carry on and each day gets better, so we are coming together for Thanksgiving," he said.

They're celebrating survival.

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