The Huge Impact the Northern California Fires Had on Business
The wildfires of California have left a lasting impact on those with residential homes. With tens of thousands of people losing their homes and many lives lost in the fire, as well as personal property lost forever, people of California are realizing that it could take years to rebuild. But what about businesses and the impact the wildfires have left on them? It is predicted that businesses throughout California could be impacted for years to come due to the wildfires.
Specifically, California’s wine business, which has been affected by wildfires in Wine Country, could find it very difficult to move forward in the years to come. The wine business is a tough business as is, with frost sometimes delaying production, too little or too much rain, periods of heat, and more. But with wildfires sweeping through and taking out everything in their path, there are bigger risks to the wine business and many other businesses. With structures completely burned to the ground, business owners know that it will be many years before things are moving forward perfectly.
The sad matter is that the economy has been struggling in some parts of California as is, only made worse by the introduction of the wildfires. Take, for instance, the struggles that many business owners have faced in Ventura, California, for years. Many business owners drove down the highway on the day the wildfires started and thought to themselves, “Our businesses will be there later on” only to find out that the fires picked up momentum and took out much more in their wake. With 250,000 acres worth of forests and businesses burned to the ground, anything was up for grabs. Among these losses were the loss of farms, which will have an impact on the markets for months to years to come.
Such natural disasters leave an impact that could completely destroy the integrity and foundation of a business that has been running wonderfully for years. Unfortunately, with the recovery being stated as “slow and difficult,” many people find that keeping hope is a hard concept. But alas, move forward they will.
Some Quick Steps to Take
If your business has suffered due to the devastation of the California wildfires, you want to keep some tips in mind that could help you in the months to come.
Safeguard: If your business has been affected by the wildfire and suffered significant damage that cannot be easily repaired, there may still be hope to save other parts of the business. Unless your business has completely burned to the ground, you want to act quickly and safeguard other pieces of your property, like fully extinguishing any remains and patching large holes on a temporary level.
Documentation: Because your insurance company will want to see what happened so that they can dictate your losses, you should always have good documentation, from receipts, credit card statements, photographs of the property, and more. It should help when court proceedings move forward, if and when they do.
Repairs: If the structure isn’t a total loss or the insurance companies give you the go-ahead, it’s time to rebuild. There are many tools that can be used in your restoration, though it could be a time-consuming project.
