Fires and wind devastate thousands of acres of avocado groves
Fires and wind devastate thousands of acres of avocado groves
Numerous wildfires throughout a wide area of Southern California, but primarily in various locations of northern San Diego County, were still raging out of control Oct. 23, but the hot, dry easterly Santa Ana winds that had driven the blazes finally began to shift and a cooler, more humid on-shore flow began moving into the area.
When The Produce News spoke with avocado growers on Oct. 23, the fires had already damaged -- and in some instances devastated -- numerous avocado groves in various growing areas over the previous couple of days, and additional acreage was threatened as dry conditions and fierce winds as high as 100 miles per hour continued to spread the fires more rapidly than firefighting crews could contain them.
The high winds made it nearly impossible for firefighting aircraft to fly. More than a half-million people had been evacuated from their homes, close to 1,300 homes and businesses had been destroyed and an estimated 9,000 acres of agricultural land had been scorched, with more than half of it being avocado groves.
Even groves that escaped the flames sustained significant windfall damage. But on Oct. 24, the situation began to improve, and there was hope that many residents would soon be able to return to their homes and growers would be able to get field crews back into the groves.
Some, including a number of growers, no longer have homes to which they can return.
There have been no reported losses of packing or cooling facilities, although some in Fallbrook and elsewhere were temporarily closed due to mandatory evacuations.
Until growers are able to get back into their groves, it will be difficult to assess the extent of the damage. Even then, it may be weeks before the full impact is known. Three different sources indicated that as much as 30 percent of the crop could be lost. Other sources put the number much lower, but everyone agrees that it's just too early to know.
Gil Henry of Henry Avocado Corp. in Escondido, CA, told The Produce News Oct. 22 that he was among those who had been evacuated from their homes. Phil Henry, also of Henry Avocado and who lives in the Rancho Santa Fe area, had also been evacuated.
Henry Avocado has had several of its groves affected by the wildfires. "In the San Pasqual Valley, I know one grove we leased is 500 acres, and that is gone and three homes along with it," he said. "We know there are several fires in the Beacon Hills grove." Also, avocado groves and homes have been "severely burned" in the Highland Valley area.
It is impossible to evaluate the extent of the damage both because it is ongoing and because "we just can't get out there yet to see what all the problems are," he said.
Mr. Henry said that he had heard the Fallbrook area in northern San Diego County had been hit hard by the blazes. There was also a big fire in the Rice Canyon area. "You name it, a fire got it. It is just bad. It is the worst I have ever seen, so that covers a considerable period of time."
On the morning of Oct. 24, Mr. Henry said (with considerable relief), "The weather has changed. It is no longer an east wind. The humidity is up. There are still spot fires around," and they are of concern. A fire in the Valley Center area continued to consume avocado acreage, he said. "But I have to think most [of the fires] are pretty well contained now. Our houses are fine. We can't get to them yet, but it won't be long."
Steve Taft of Eco Farms Avocados in Temecula, CA, said Oct. 24 that it had been "about as bad a week as we've ever had." The winds and fire are "going to have a huge impact on the avocado crop."
While he could not yet put a number on the loss, there has been "a tremendous amount of damage," he said. "I have been in this area for 38 years, and I have never seen anything like this," including the 2003 fire "that got so much nationwide publicity. That was very bad, but that looks like a walk in the park compared to this one."
There has been significant damage in Fallbrook, Pauma Valley, Irvine, Escondido, San Pasqual, Highland Valley and Valley Center, Mr. Taft said, adding that it has affected nearly everyone in the avocado business. "It is a huge, huge loss of epic proportion, I would say, and I am not one given to exaggeration."
Any estimate that could be made at this point would just be "shooting off your hip, really, and that would not be helpful," Galen Newhouse of West Pak Avocado Inc. in Temecula said Oct. 24. "There is so much misinformation out there." But when fire damage is added to wind damage, "it has got to be a huge number."
His own ranch in Fallbrook got "quite a bit of burn damage, and he said he heard reports that in Fallbrook alone some 21,000 avocado trees had burned. "That's just in one area," he said.
"It is not good," said Avi Crane of Prime Produce International in Orange, CA. While Prime Produce's H&H Avocado packinghouse and cooler were not near the fire and were unaffected, "our growers were impacted, and some of them we can't even contact right now," he said Oct. 24.
One of the major problems ahead for avocado growers will be to "get water back on the trees" as quickly as possible to prevent fruit drop from drought stress, Mr. Crane said. That is an urgent need complicated by the fact that, in many cases, the fires have melted irrigation lines, so those systems will need to be repaired or replaced before water can be turned on in the groves.
Charlie Wolk, an avocado grower and grove manager in Fallbrook, who is chairman of the Hass Avocado Board, made the same point. "I have orchards where it maybe only got 20 percent damage of the trees," but the undamaged trees cannot be irrigated "until I fix the irrigation system." And so far, "we can't even get into" the groves to start the process, he said Oct. 24.
Because of the hot, dry conditions that have prevailed, "the trees need water," he said. "If we don't get to them at least by Friday, they are going to drop fruit, so it is not over yet."
It will take some time before the extent of the damage to trees is known, Mr. Wolk said. If only the leaves have been burned, "the trees will grow back." But if the cambium layer on the trunk has been burned, "the tree is history." Even if it survives, "it won't pay the water bill."
Mr. Wolk praised the firefighting crews who came in from all over the state to help protect homes threatened by the fires.
According to Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, the main avocado-growing areas in the county are Ramona, Escondido, Valley Center and Fallbrook, "and all four of those areas were hit very hard by the fires." But the situation "is much improved [Oct. 24] because the wind direction is beginning to shift," bringing "an onshore breeze from the ocean that is much more humid. That is making a big difference." Fires will now be turned back on themselves toward areas that are already burned, where there is no more fuel, he said.
Dawn Neilsen of the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioners Office said that through the morning of Oct. 23, 4,666 acres of avocados and a nearly equal acreage of various other crops had been engulfed by fires. Additional acreage was burned on Tuesday, and some was still burning on Wednesday. "There are a lot of areas up in the Pauma Valley that we are still worried about," she said. "There are still areas that are burning and there are still areas to burn."
In addition to avocados, the fires affected crops ranging from citrus to wine grapes to tropicals, such as cherimoyas and guavas. Even pole-grown tomatoes and other row crops have been damaged. "There are about 50 different crops grown in this area," she said.
As the weather conditions became more favorable and prospects for controlling the fires had improved, "there is a lot of relief for a lot of people" whose homes were spared, Ms. Neilsen said. But in the wake of the devastation, there is also "a lot of sadness."
When The Produce News spoke with avocado growers on Oct. 23, the fires had already damaged -- and in some instances devastated -- numerous avocado groves in various growing areas over the previous couple of days, and additional acreage was threatened as dry conditions and fierce winds as high as 100 miles per hour continued to spread the fires more rapidly than firefighting crews could contain them.
The high winds made it nearly impossible for firefighting aircraft to fly. More than a half-million people had been evacuated from their homes, close to 1,300 homes and businesses had been destroyed and an estimated 9,000 acres of agricultural land had been scorched, with more than half of it being avocado groves.
Even groves that escaped the flames sustained significant windfall damage. But on Oct. 24, the situation began to improve, and there was hope that many residents would soon be able to return to their homes and growers would be able to get field crews back into the groves.
Some, including a number of growers, no longer have homes to which they can return.
There have been no reported losses of packing or cooling facilities, although some in Fallbrook and elsewhere were temporarily closed due to mandatory evacuations.
Until growers are able to get back into their groves, it will be difficult to assess the extent of the damage. Even then, it may be weeks before the full impact is known. Three different sources indicated that as much as 30 percent of the crop could be lost. Other sources put the number much lower, but everyone agrees that it's just too early to know.
Gil Henry of Henry Avocado Corp. in Escondido, CA, told The Produce News Oct. 22 that he was among those who had been evacuated from their homes. Phil Henry, also of Henry Avocado and who lives in the Rancho Santa Fe area, had also been evacuated.
Henry Avocado has had several of its groves affected by the wildfires. "In the San Pasqual Valley, I know one grove we leased is 500 acres, and that is gone and three homes along with it," he said. "We know there are several fires in the Beacon Hills grove." Also, avocado groves and homes have been "severely burned" in the Highland Valley area.
It is impossible to evaluate the extent of the damage both because it is ongoing and because "we just can't get out there yet to see what all the problems are," he said.
Mr. Henry said that he had heard the Fallbrook area in northern San Diego County had been hit hard by the blazes. There was also a big fire in the Rice Canyon area. "You name it, a fire got it. It is just bad. It is the worst I have ever seen, so that covers a considerable period of time."
On the morning of Oct. 24, Mr. Henry said (with considerable relief), "The weather has changed. It is no longer an east wind. The humidity is up. There are still spot fires around," and they are of concern. A fire in the Valley Center area continued to consume avocado acreage, he said. "But I have to think most [of the fires] are pretty well contained now. Our houses are fine. We can't get to them yet, but it won't be long."
Steve Taft of Eco Farms Avocados in Temecula, CA, said Oct. 24 that it had been "about as bad a week as we've ever had." The winds and fire are "going to have a huge impact on the avocado crop."
While he could not yet put a number on the loss, there has been "a tremendous amount of damage," he said. "I have been in this area for 38 years, and I have never seen anything like this," including the 2003 fire "that got so much nationwide publicity. That was very bad, but that looks like a walk in the park compared to this one."
There has been significant damage in Fallbrook, Pauma Valley, Irvine, Escondido, San Pasqual, Highland Valley and Valley Center, Mr. Taft said, adding that it has affected nearly everyone in the avocado business. "It is a huge, huge loss of epic proportion, I would say, and I am not one given to exaggeration."
Any estimate that could be made at this point would just be "shooting off your hip, really, and that would not be helpful," Galen Newhouse of West Pak Avocado Inc. in Temecula said Oct. 24. "There is so much misinformation out there." But when fire damage is added to wind damage, "it has got to be a huge number."
His own ranch in Fallbrook got "quite a bit of burn damage, and he said he heard reports that in Fallbrook alone some 21,000 avocado trees had burned. "That's just in one area," he said.
"It is not good," said Avi Crane of Prime Produce International in Orange, CA. While Prime Produce's H&H Avocado packinghouse and cooler were not near the fire and were unaffected, "our growers were impacted, and some of them we can't even contact right now," he said Oct. 24.
One of the major problems ahead for avocado growers will be to "get water back on the trees" as quickly as possible to prevent fruit drop from drought stress, Mr. Crane said. That is an urgent need complicated by the fact that, in many cases, the fires have melted irrigation lines, so those systems will need to be repaired or replaced before water can be turned on in the groves.
Charlie Wolk, an avocado grower and grove manager in Fallbrook, who is chairman of the Hass Avocado Board, made the same point. "I have orchards where it maybe only got 20 percent damage of the trees," but the undamaged trees cannot be irrigated "until I fix the irrigation system." And so far, "we can't even get into" the groves to start the process, he said Oct. 24.
Because of the hot, dry conditions that have prevailed, "the trees need water," he said. "If we don't get to them at least by Friday, they are going to drop fruit, so it is not over yet."
It will take some time before the extent of the damage to trees is known, Mr. Wolk said. If only the leaves have been burned, "the trees will grow back." But if the cambium layer on the trunk has been burned, "the tree is history." Even if it survives, "it won't pay the water bill."
Mr. Wolk praised the firefighting crews who came in from all over the state to help protect homes threatened by the fires.
According to Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, the main avocado-growing areas in the county are Ramona, Escondido, Valley Center and Fallbrook, "and all four of those areas were hit very hard by the fires." But the situation "is much improved [Oct. 24] because the wind direction is beginning to shift," bringing "an onshore breeze from the ocean that is much more humid. That is making a big difference." Fires will now be turned back on themselves toward areas that are already burned, where there is no more fuel, he said.
Dawn Neilsen of the San Diego County Agricultural Commissioners Office said that through the morning of Oct. 23, 4,666 acres of avocados and a nearly equal acreage of various other crops had been engulfed by fires. Additional acreage was burned on Tuesday, and some was still burning on Wednesday. "There are a lot of areas up in the Pauma Valley that we are still worried about," she said. "There are still areas that are burning and there are still areas to burn."
In addition to avocados, the fires affected crops ranging from citrus to wine grapes to tropicals, such as cherimoyas and guavas. Even pole-grown tomatoes and other row crops have been damaged. "There are about 50 different crops grown in this area," she said.
As the weather conditions became more favorable and prospects for controlling the fires had improved, "there is a lot of relief for a lot of people" whose homes were spared, Ms. Neilsen said. But in the wake of the devastation, there is also "a lot of sadness."
