In the aftermath of the worst wildfires in California's history, Green Industry workers are surveying the damage and counting their losses. For most, it is business interruption; a few others are assessing property and crop damages.

Much of the fire damage was in the hills and other wooded areas where nurseries and garden centers are scarce; there were, however, scattered reports of damage and near misses.

In an effort to help the fire victims, PlantFind, the premier provider of technology-based business solutions to the Green Industry, is offering affected businesses free memberships, as it did for the East Coast victims of Hurricane Isabel in September.

Michael Ferraro, President of PlantFind, said "I was amazed when I saw the news coverage of the total devastation that occurred because of the fires. I know that for some businesses, they potentially could have lost their entire inventories." He added, "I thought that if PlantFind could help in any way to get these businesses back on their feet, we needed to be there for them."

Ferraro encouraged affected businesses to contact the PlantFind offices at 1.877.473.3363, send an e-mail to info@PlantFind.com, or go to the website at www.PlantFind.com

Robert Falconer, executive vice president of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, said early reports indicated that few nurseries had suffered major damages.

"Some (nurseries) had some close calls, and some nurseries shut down where employees couldn't get to work and there was mandatory evacuation," Falconer said.

On the outskirts of Oxnard, Riveridge Farms suffered about $150,000 in damages when shade houses and "some inventory" of plants were lost, according to a nursery employee. The wholesale nursery grows herbs and perennials to chain stores in northern and southern California. The employee said the nursery was not forced to shut down.

A flower grower near Somis, CA, said he expects losses of $150,000, according to GMPro's "greEn-MAIL," and there were reports of airborne ash and soot causing respiratory problems in workers.

Other reports reaching PlantFind indicated that the fires affected some retail and wholesale nurseries even if they were not in the path of the flames, as customers were scarce and employees left work to be with their families and their homes.

Jo O'Connell of Australian Native Plants in Ventura said business "just went dead" during the emergency, "but we're fine," suffering no damages. Barbara Cline of Aqua Conserve, Inc., of Riverside said the nursery's "customers were involved," which affected business temporarily, and Herban Garden of Fallbrook reported that sales were down for about two days, though the company stayed open.

The closest call may have been at Otto & Sons Nursery on the outskirts of Fillmore, where fires reached but did not cross Guiberson Road in front of the nursery. Otto & Sons, which sells wholesale and retail, specializing in roses, suffered no fire damage.

Len Parker, a spokesman for the San Diego County Department of Agriculture and Weights and Measures, told PlantFind 14 ½ acres in wholesale nursery production and 6 acres of flower fields had burned in the county. He declined to identify the nurseries.

Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, told PlantFind that five teams of inspectors from the county agriculture commissioner's office were in the field on Tuesday trying to reach growers and assess damages. Preliminary reports indicated that no greenhouse structures were affected, but there likely were fire damages to fields of cut flowers and outdoor perennials, he said. Some growers likely suffered from irrigation loss, as power had been interrupted for several days, but was restored in most parts of the county by Tuesday. Larson said some avocado plantations suffered significant damages as the fires raced through the trees and ignited leaf litter on the ground.