San Diego County growers are still trying to assess the damage from the wildfires. Agriculture officials say the total numbers probably won't be known for a few more days. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has the story.
Avocados, ornamental flowers, citrus -- those are just some of the products grown in San Diego County. All told, agriculture is a $1.5 billion industry here. Unfortunately, the Rice and Poomacha fires burned right through the heart of some of the County's richest farming areas. Eric Larson is executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau. He says there aren't a lot of options for growers who lose crops.
Larson: They're going to have to personally make a decision on reinvesting. There's no real programs out there for aid and relief for farmers. In the best case, there may be some low interest loans available from the federal government. But the truth is those tend to be very, very hard to get.
Larson says some growers have crop insurance. But that only covers the end product -- not the tree or plant itself. All in all, Larson says it's been a rough year for San Diego County growers.
Larson: We had the freeze in January, now we have this fire, and then January 1 because of the drought, all farmers have to cut their water usage by 30 percent".
Local avocado growers may be among the hardest hit by the fires. The California Avocado Commission estimates up to 2,500 acres of the fruit have burned. That's ten percent of the County's total avocado crop.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
