Wildfires in southern California have decimated a large area of the region’s famed avocado crop.

Known as the “avocado capital of the world”, the fire spread to the orchards of Fallbrook in Ventura County, scorching trees and ruining the fruit.

Experts said even those farms that were not directly impacted by the blaze may have suffered devastating losses due to the hot, dry Santa Ana winds that blow out of the California desert, knocking avocados from the trees with gusts up to 80 miles per hour.

“A lot of the fruit everybody was looking forward to harvesting next year is laying on the ground,” said John Krist, chief executive of the Ventura County Farm Bureau.

Once an avocado is on the ground, it cannot be sold for human consumption due to food safety regulations.

The ash will also leave the fruit vulnerable to pests, according to Ben Faber, a University of California farm adviser in Ventura, who believes the impact of the fires will not necessarily be immediate.

“When you get all this ash, they can’t do their jobs,” he said. “That’s going to cause a disruption to the bio controls that’s going to go on for a year or more.”

Wildfires killed one woman as flames ripped through more than 500 buildings, killed dozens of horses and caused hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

Burning nearly 250 square miles since Monday, 1,000 firefighters have been battling the flames with help from a fleet of air tankers and helicopters.

Virginia Pesola, 70, of Santa Paula, was found dead on Wednesday night along an evacuation route near a fire northwest of Los Angeles.

Her death was caused by crash injuries, smoke inhalation and burns, the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.

“The crews were trying to stay out ahead of this as quickly as they could,” said Captain Kendal Bortisser of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.

California fires: in pictures Show all 36 1 /36 California fires: in pictures California fires: in pictures A man watches the Thomas Fire in the hills above Carpinteria, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Santa Barbara harbor stands as wildfire burns along the coast during the Thomas Fire REUTERS California fires: in pictures Flames from the Thomas Fire burn in the hills of Montecito, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Fire personnel drive along West Lilac Road near Bonsall Rex Features California fires: in pictures The Thomas Fire burns on a hillside behind Lake Casitas in Ventura AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Chatsworth firefighters Zach Reynolds, left, and Steven Salazar clear hot spots at a home destroyed by the Skirball Fire on Casiano Road in Bel-Air Rex Features California fires: in pictures A home is consumed by fire Getty Images California fires: in pictures A mountain lion is removed from a truck. Nearly 200 animals were evacuated from the Wildlife Waystation when the Creek fire started. Rex Features California fires: in pictures Firefighters battle the Lilac fire in Bonsall AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Kalorama Apartments that was partially destroyed in the fire Rex Features California fires: in pictures Inmate firefighters fight a fire in an avocado orchard at the Ojai Vista Farm EPA California fires: in pictures Flames consume a structure as the Lilac fire burns in Bonsai, Calif AP California fires: in pictures Inmate firefighters fight a fire in an avocado orchard at the Ojai Vista Farm EPA California fires: in pictures Firefighters monitor a section of the Thomas Fire along the 101 freeway Getty Images California fires: in pictures Firefighters work to extinguish the Thomas Fire as it burns past the 101 Highway towards the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Firefighter Dan Whelan is silhouetted against the sun as he battles a wildfire burning near Faria State Beach AP California fires: in pictures A firefighter is working on extinguishing the Lilac Fire Reuters California fires: in pictures Firefighters work to extinguish the Thomas Fire as it burns past the 101 Highway AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures A wildfire threatens homes as it burns along a hillside in La Conchita, Calif AP California fires: in pictures A car drives past as the Thomas Fire burns a hillside south of Casitas Springs, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Firefighters try to extinguish fire at a house in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures A burnt-out car is seen at the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures A burning house at the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures Firefighters battle to contain flames to a home on fire in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures LA city firefighters try to save a winery storage building that is own by billionaire Rupert Murdoch Rex Features California fires: in pictures A firefighter tries to extinguish fire at a house in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures A burning house at the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Rex Features California fires: in pictures Los Angeles City firefighter Francisco Martinez protects a home as firefighters battle the Skirball Fire in Bel-Air Rex Features California fires: in pictures The Thomas Fire burns behind trails on Old Baldwin Road in Ojai, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Members of the Reinhardt family sort through the remains of their family home after the Thomas wildfire swept through Ventura, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Heavy smoke covers the seaside enclave of Mondos Beach beside the 101 highway as flames reach the coast during the Thomas wildfire near Ventura, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures A family wears face masks as they walk through the smoke filled streets after the Thomas wildfire swept through Ventura, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures Flames from the Thomas fire burn above a truck on Highway 101 north of Ventura AP California fires: in pictures Trees are seen through the haze at the burnt out Vista del Mar Hospital after the Thomas wildfire swept through Ventura, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures A woman involved in a traffic accident waits to get towed beside a wall of flames on the 101 highway during the Thomas wildfire near Ventura, California AFP/Getty Images California fires: in pictures The Thomas Fire burns along a hillside near Santa Paula, California AFP/Getty Images

“As we know, when a tornado hits the Midwest, there’s no stopping it. When a hurricane hits the East Coast, there’s no stopping it. When Santa Ana winds come in, there’s no stopping them.”

Firefighters northwest of Los Angeles gained some control over the largest and most destructive fire in the state, which destroyed 430 buildings.

The blaze in Ventura County grew to 206 square miles after igniting on Monday, while a fire 50 miles north of San Diego ignited for unknown reasons and destroyed at least 85 structures as it burned six square miles.

Fire crews made enough progress against other large fires around LA to lift most evacuation orders.

Horse trainers took stock of the damage at the elite San Luis Rey Downs training facility for thoroughbreds in Bonsall, where many of the more than 450 horses were cut loose to prevent them from being trapped in burning stables.

Most of the loose horses were corralled and taken to another location, but about 25 died as barns and pasture burned.

Crews were also dispatched to stamp out a small new fire that began to the east in the Cleveland National Forest near the mountain town of Alpine.