Hundreds of people, as many as 1,000 people or more, are estimated to be determined to wait out the fires in places like Trinity Pines and other areas, because they are close to harvesting their cannabis crops.
There are at least 40 legal farms in the region, along with other black market operations, and those farms alone are bringing in millions of dollars. One farm could have as much as half a million in product or more. They are worried about leaving it and seeing it destroyed by the fires or stolen by thieves.
Fire officials have said that they are ready to do everything in their power to try and defend those crops for the farmers, but there might be not enough that they'll be able to do to stop it.
However, they've made it clear that they aren't going to be risking their lives if people choose to stay when officials have told them they should leave.
For many farmers their crop operation is their entire lives, they've invested thousands of dollars and countless hours into bringing it to life.
Some of them also might not have insurance to cover their loss, because of the difficulty with cannabis still being federally criminalized and the reluctance of insurance companies to provide coverage for it.
This isn't the first time fires have threatened the cannabis market in California, and it won't be the last. Some are still struggling with the aftermath of fires from years ago and now they've got even more struggles to endure.
Cannabis is one of the most vulnerable crops to the fires right now in California.
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Hello @doitvoluntarily,
Very interesting article.