Ventura County avocado farmer loses crops in Mountain Fire, says his retirement plan is now gone

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    SOMIS, California (KABC) — The Mountain Fire ripped through Sergio Acevedo’s two-acre farm, destroying nearly 100 of his 300 avocado trees.

The 75-year-old said he saw his crops go up in flames on TV news coverage.

“Well very sad, not only for me, but for the neighbors and all the people around here,” he said.

He said he’s heartbroken for those who lost their homes and crops.

He bought the two-acre parcel of farmland with a chunk of his savings. It was his dream to grow avocados and retire from his job as a diesel mechanic becoming a full-time farmer.

Now, he says his retirement is down to “nothing.”

For the last nearly 25 years, Acevedo said he poured his heart and soul into his farm. Not only did the fire torch his trees, the blaze also destroyed his irrigation system. He said he does not have insurance to cover the damage.

“This is his peaceful place. This is his retirement. This is his magical place where he comes and just unwinds. And my mom comes out here, and this is their life savings. And at this point, they kind of have to start over, and go from scratch, and it’s hard at 75, you know, he’s a very private man. But I said, Dad, you know we need help. You need help, At 75 to start over again is a huge financial burden,” said Acevedo’s daughter, Wendy Acevedo-Solis.

A GoFundMe account was set up to help Acevedo.

Ventura County officials are well aware of the catastrophic damage the fire inflicted on growers like Acevedo.

“We rank No.1 in the state for avocados and sadly avocados have been hardest hit in this fire so far. So we have over 500 acres of avocados that had been damaged or destroyed, equating to over $4 million in revenue,” said Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Korinne Bell.

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