By Christi Warren for the Press Democrat – PressDemocrat.com – Photo: Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat.
Photo: Griselda Benitez stands beside the ice cream truck and carts that she still owns after selling her business due to solles from the wildfires last Octover, in Santa Rosa, California.
When the Tubbs fire tore through Santa Rosa last year, it left behind a wide path of destruction and displacement. Ice cream entrepreneur Griselda Benítez, would lose their businesses to the wildfires, consumed directly by the flames or the economic dislocation that followed. Others, like the owners of Lupe’s Diner in Windsor and the Tipsy Taco & Cantina in Santa Rosa, found themselves fighting to keep their businesses running while also figuring out how to rebuild a home.