Clayton Fire dashes dream of Tuscany in Lake County

Matt Swinford tried to sleep Saturday night, but he felt nervous as the smell of smoke from a nearby wildfire pierced his nose. Hours later, Swinford and his cat fled the vast Clayton Fire that threatened his cottage on the grounds of Terrill Cellars, a Lake County winery where he pours wine for a living. “I had my fingers crossed,” said Swinford, 35. “We’d gone through this before, like last year, and didn’t get hit. I moved up here last year during the Rocky Fire. I knew what I was getting into when I moved up here. I knew the risk.”