After being evacuated from his orchard in Summerland, B.C., due to a wildfire, Deep Brar returned to find his peaches in poor condition and quickly rotting. As the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, Brar faced the challenge of salvaging what remained of his harvest.
Although his property was unharmed by the fire, Brar’s business, Brarstar Orchards, suffered significant losses as a large portion of his fruit was left to spoil on the trees during the evacuation. The peaches were soft, overripe, and bruised, making them unsuitable for sale.
Brar managed to save only a fraction of his usual harvest, with a considerable amount of fruit being discarded. Despite his efforts, he could salvage only four pallets’ worth of peaches out of the orchard’s total produce. Cherries were fortunate to have been harvested before the evacuation, while plums were mostly lost due to overripeness.
The main issue affecting the apples, according to Brar, was the disruption in irrigation and watering systems during the evacuation. The power outage in Summerland caused complications for farmers like Ted Vollo, who faced challenges with their digital irrigation clocks losing programmed schedules.
Upon returning to the orchard, Vollo observed severe damage to his apples, with shriveled fruit, drooping branches, and yellowing leaves indicating distress. A significant portion of gala apples appeared unlikely to meet commercial size standards due to the irrigation issues faced during the evacuation.
In response to the situation, Khush Saran of JS Orchard in Summerland offered a discount on his overripe peaches that were still edible but unsuitable for commercial sale. Saran, who had to be away from the orchard for ten days due to the wildfire, invited the public to pick peaches at reduced prices, selling them for $1 per pound instead of the usual $2.
The impact of the wildfire and evacuation on the Summerland orchards highlights the challenges faced by local farmers in salvaging their harvests and mitigating losses caused by unforeseen natural disasters.