Hail Storm Destroys Placerville Farmer's Orchard; Volunteers Needed To Keep Business Open
PLACERVILLE (CBS13) - A local apple farmer is trying to recover from a major hail storm last week. He says it destroyed his orchard and he's looking for help to save it.
Hail the size of quarters rained down on the Hooverville Orchards last Tuesday. It was supposed to be one of the best seasons the orchard has seen, but now this farmer is looking for help to turn this season around.
"Hail usually lasts for one minute -- maybe five minutes max. Twenty minutes...I've never seen it in 50 years," said Chris Hoover.
Hoover says It was the perfect storm.
"I might lose one crop year to the next but I've never lost them all," he said.
A five-mile path of hail landed right over Hooverville Orchards.
"It broke into the fruit even cracked some of the fruit," said Hoover.
The farm is 72 acres and grows 100 varieties of fruit.
"You can see the damage...oh my gosh, it's just unbelievable," he said.
Hoover says this latest storm could cost him his business:
"This was so devastating I was going to walk away," he said.
Everything is done by hand here.
"I don't have machinery; this is all done by hand," he said.
He guesses 10,000 hours of manpower is needed to pick off the damaged fruit, so what's left behind can flourish
Now he's looking for help.
"We need you to make this work," he said.
He can't afford the labor, so through volunteers and a Go Fund Me page, he's hoping to stay afloat. Area Farmers markets, restaurants, and, of course, his workers, are depending on him:
"This is the time I need folks to come on out to help us stay alive and keep the farm going so we can keep the farm going," he said.
Hooverville Orchards isn't the only farm that was damaged. He says other fruit farms in the storm's path are fighting this late-season damage too.
He's hoping for as many volunteers as possible. For now, it's all hands on deck.
If you would like to donate to the Hoover Orchards' recovery efforts, click here. If you would like to volunteer to help, click here.
