The Bluntness

Show Love For These 4 Cannabis Businesses Affected By Wildfires

By Melissa Bacal

Wildfires destroy Sweet Creek Farms in California.
Wildfires destroy Sweet Creek Farms in California. / @Sweetcreekfarm on Instagram

As wildfires tear across the West Coast, we're checking in with our 420 community on Instagram to see how everyone has fared.

The following four farms and businesses were destroyed or damaged in the wildfires. If you know of anyone who sustained damage, please let us know so we can spread the word (DM us on IG) and support our community members as they recover.

Sweet Creek Farms

Sweet Creek Farms, located in Sonoma County, California, is a small, family-run cannabis operation owned by Keala Peterson. According to Peterson, Sweet Creek was damaged by the fires and lost about four-fifths of its marijuana crop. Peterson's cannabis plants are not insured, and she expects around $150,000 in losses. Peterson reported firefighters were able to save part of her family compound.

It looks like a wasteland. [...] Pretty much, it’s a total loss.

- Keala Peterson
View this post on Instagram

We are overwhelmed with our losses but buoyed by the incredible outpouring of support, love and encouragement. Thank you to everyone for reaching out, we have read each word and it has been a salve for our spirits. This community has blown us away. An update of the last week: On Thursday evening we watched from the Mount Jackson fire camera as the fire backed down our ridge, closer and closer to our homes and garden. It was absolutely terrifying. Papa Arne (retired firefighter) refused to leave his property and so he was there with his pool pump along with an engine from Guerneville. Papa Arne called us when the redwoods behind their house caught fire and ignited a 50 foot torch of intense heat. Seconds after he hung up, we saw the ominous signs of a structure fire as black billows of smoke moved parallel to the ground, propelled by 40 mile an hour winds caused by the fires own energy. It was incredibly difficult to watch a lifetime of memories burn in real time. The heat and embers from the structure fire then put our “lodge” in jeopardy. Making matters worse, was that there is a 300 gallon propane tank, freshly topped off, 50 ft from the burning house in between the remaining structure. Papa Arne and the fire crew took turns blasting the fence around the ticking time bomb, seeking shelter behind the fire truck when the heat was too much to endure. Our “lodge” would be lost without the heroic efforts from our local firefighters and Papa Arne. We are eternally grateful. The fire moved its way down the hill past our homes to the garden. We recently put a lot of work into creating a defensible space around the garden but our hay caught fire and scorched the gals. By some sort of miracle, our first terraced row (out of five) is relatively in tact, with some singed branches on the lower canopy. We are unsure about the smoke taint, but we feel a certain amount of hope in having something left. Additionally, our hard infrastructure of the solar pump, rainwater catchment tanks, and feed lines all survived. This is a huge relief because all is not lost. 2020 will be a season for the books, and we have learned so much from this crazy experience. We will make a post

A post shared by Sweet Creek Farm (@sweetcreekfarm) on

East Fork Cultivars

East Fork Cultivars, located in southwestern Oregon, has had to evacuate, but is currently unsure of the fate of its farm. Many nearby farms have burned down in the fires in Oregon. About 20% of Oregon's marijuana companies have had to evacuate because of the fires.

View this post on Instagram

The #SlaterFire, now the #1 priority wildfire in the U.S., on the southern edge of our town of Takilma last night.   Our farm, as of now, is still standing.   It’s 1 mile from our farm and the core of Takilma.   But our nearby friends at The Meadows, an incredible intentional community, is in grave danger. The fire has reached their land, their water line has apparently burned, and we will be heading there shortly to assist.  The fires are burning slowly at night, then moving fast and scary during the day. Things are heating up again.   Thank you everyone for your support and love over the last week. It's been a rollercoaster. And not a ride we want to be on. And not a ride that's over.    We have gusty SW winds predicted again which aid in smoke reduction, causing increased fire at lower elevations. When the inversion breaks, change is coming. Thanks to the incredible community that's rallied, kept the fire at bay, and the heroic firefighters across Oregon and West Coast.   We're all hoping for aircraft but they have been socked in by smoke so far because they aren't staged locally. 70% chance of rain Thursday ?  Climate change/crisis sucks. Not being able to get proper crop insurance, because the shadow of cannabis prohibition is long, which was and is rooted in racism and xenophobia, also sucks. Let’s vote for folks who believe in science this election.

A post shared by East Fork Cultivars (@eastforkcultivars) on

WAMM Phytotherapies

The WAMM farm in Santa Cruz, California has been essentially destroyed from the wildfires in the area. This farm was also uninsured, but owner Valerie Corral says her organization has been through worse and will be able to recover, one way or another.

We just found out that probably everything burned.

- WAMM Phytotherapies

Talent Health Club

Talent Health Club in Oregon was tragically burnt down by the wildfires. Thankfully, no members of the organization lost their homes. THC says they will rise from the ashes and be back better than ever.

WANT MORE? Sign Up for The Bluntness Newsletter for Your Weekly Dose of Cannabis News