The California Department of Food and Agriculture has the first statewide estimate of crop damage from last month's wildfires: $47.5 million, with most of the damage in San Diego County. As KPBS reporter Andrew Phelps tells us, that number will only grow higher.
The total includes $3.5 million of avocado damage in Riverside and Orange Counties, plus another $1.5 million in San Bernardino County.
San Diego's crops took the biggest hit: at least $42.6 million. That does not include the Harris Fire, and it doesn't include damage to irrigation systems. Eric Larson, of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, says the losses will add up for years.
It's important to recognize that an avocado tree that was burned, if that tree has to be replaced or cut back, it's going to take five years before that tree is back in production. So that loss will continue for a number of years.}
Larson's farm bureau hosts a town-hall meeting in Escondido tomorrow, where farmers can find out how to get help.
Andrew Phelps, KPBS News.
