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Fires and wind devastate thousands of acres of avocado groves
United States
Thursday 25 October 2007
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.
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.
