A Resilient Residence Replaces a Home Destroyed by Wildfire in Northern California

The adage "once burned, twice shy" held no sway for Buttons and Ridgie Barton. In October 2017, the catastrophic Nuns fire incinerated the ’70s-era A-frame in Napa County, California, that had served as a family retreat for 20 years and that the couple, who are mostly retired from a business-to-business marketing company that they ran together, were in the process of turning into their permanent home.

When the fire hit, the Bartons had almost finished their move north from the Cliff May ranch house in Anaheim they’d lived in for 52 years. They’d already brought nearly all their family keepsakes and heirlooms, making the loss especially poignant (fortunately, the couple were away at the time). But while rebuilding in fire-prone areas is often controversial, they never even considered leaving. "Nope, we didn’t think twice," says Ridgie, although they did vow to build a home that took into account the realities of its environment.