Wildfire update from the California Farm Bureau Federation

» Posted 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 «

Nursery owners in fire-damaged regions of San Diego County say they’re working to fill orders and resume shipments, as they repair damage from both wildfires and windstorms.

San Diego County leads the nation in production of nursery crops such as potted plants, ornamental trees and flowers.

Solid figures about the number of nurseries damaged or plants lost are still being developed, but “some nurseries were burned pretty severely,” according to Robert Falconer of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers.

Even nurseries that escaped fire damage have been struggling to recover.

“Ash is one issue,” Falconer said. “Nurseries are growing relatively delicate plants and they are covered with ash. There is a poinsettia grower that had ashes all over the plants and didn’t know how to get the ash off to make the plants saleable.”

Nurseries also had plants, greenhouses and other facilities knocked down or damaged by the strong Santa Ana winds that preceded and spread the wildfires.

Nursery owner Dean Hesketh said his business had a 4,000 square-foot greenhouse full of banana trees that “just folded in on itself” during the high winds. He said he’s working to repair his facilities and turning down orders for plants in the meantime.

“I expect we’ll start shipping next week, because a lot of time is being eaten up in repairing and making sure that the canopy on all of the plants is in good shape,” he said.

Flower broker Julie Walker of Valley Center said it will take a while for flower growers to resume full production. She estimates it could be a month before her shipments return to full speed.

In the meantime, Hesketh said, nurseries and related businesses have been working together to help each other recover.

“Everybody’s been cooperative. We’ve had a lot of different growers call us and ask if they can help us, so there’s been really a good community spirit here,” he said.

Look for a longer story about the impact of the wildfires and windstorms on nurseries and flower growers, to be published in the Nov. 7 issue of Ag Alert.

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest farm organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 92,000 members.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

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