Upon returning to his orchard in Summerland, B.C., after being evacuated due to a wildfire, Deep Brar faced the urgent need to salvage his harvest. As the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, Brar discovered that his peaches were deteriorating rapidly, making them unsuitable for picking.
Following the sudden escalation of the Bald Range fire earlier in the month, Brar and many others were forced to evacuate the area. While his orchard remained physically unscathed by the fire, his business, Brarstar Orchards, suffered significant losses as a large portion of the fruit was left to spoil on the trees during the evacuation.
Brar expressed disappointment over the condition of the fruit, describing them as soft, overripe, and bruised. Despite his efforts, he was only able to salvage a small fraction of a normal harvest, with a substantial amount of fruit going to waste during the recovery process.
In a similar plight, fellow farmer Ted Vollo, who specializes in apples and cherries, faced challenges with his produce due to the disruption caused by the wildfire evacuation. The interruption of power supply to the town affected irrigation systems, causing complications for farmers reliant on digital clocks to regulate watering schedules.
Vollo recounted the distressing sight of his apple orchard upon his return, noting significant damage to the trees and fruit due to the lack of proper watering during the evacuation period. A considerable portion of gala apples is anticipated to fall short of commercial standards in terms of size.
In response to the compromised state of their crops, some farmers, like Jagtaran Saran of JS Orchard, have resorted to offering discounted prices for their overripe produce. Saran found his peaches still edible but too ripe for regular sale, prompting him to invite the public to pick peaches at reduced rates, selling them for $1 per pound instead of the usual $2.
Despite the challenges faced by these farmers, efforts are being made to salvage what remains of the harvest and minimize financial losses in the aftermath of the wildfire evacuation in Summerland.
