Avocados and the fires

Here is the link to The Packer's John Chadwell's coverage of the impact of the California fires on avocados. From John's story:

Raging Santa Ana winds that swept through the area Oct. 21-22 knocked an estimated 35 million pounds — 10% of the state’s production — of avocados off trees, said Guy Witney, director of industry affairs for the California Avocado Commission, Irvine.“Between the winds and the fires, that’s a reasonable estimate,” Witney said. “I’m guessing because there is such chaos right now. Our main concern is for our farm families, and we have 6,500 families who grow avocados, and the bulk of them are in north San Diego County.”He said he talked to growers north of Escondido, Calif., and they reported significant fire damage to their orchards. “While they were trying to get out, they could see what was happening,” he said. “It might be a week before we can make a good assessment of the damage.” He said wind gusts were blowing dry leaves across orchards and that eventually, with enough time and wind, the trees would go up in flames.“I’m praying we haven’t lost major acres in that area,” Witney said.

From coverage in The Ventura County Star:

Wildfires have yet to touch Ventura County farms, but fierce Santa Ana winds are wreaking havoc on local crops, particularly unripened avocados that are being blown off trees.
Grower Henry Vega said he knows of one farm where at least 10 percent of the avocados were on the ground.
“This is not all said and done,” Vega said. “We’re still experiencing drop.”
Damage estimates have not been assessed, according to Ventura County Farm Bureau Chief Executive Officer Rex Laird.
Fires that are raging through the Southland has growers scrambling, with Laird talking “almost constantly to growers in preparatory mode.”
Laird and growers are using a phone tree to track conditions, and growers are making sure brush is cleared away from the edge of orchards and sprinklers are running.
Lemons are also being stripped from trees, said Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail, “but it’s mainly avocados.”
Avocados were the county’s sixth highest revenue generator in 2006, with $87.4 million in sales, according to the Agicultural Commissioner’s latest crop report. Lemons were third at $191.6 million.
As for the county’s top crop, strawberries, the “main concern right now is getting enough water on them so they don’t dry out and die,” McPhail said. Strawberries pulled in $366.3 million in 2006.
Losing more produce after last year’s freeze is just one more hit the county’s agricultural industry does not need, but considering how bad the situation has become in other counties, farmers are just thankful there’s been no direct fire damage.