The fast-moving fire that tore through the Adelaide Hills has possibly wiped out a third of the region's wine production. The Adelaide Hills is one of the most intensively farmed regions in South Australia and it's estimated 25,000 hectares has been burnt. On Kangaroo Island a further 13,000 hectares has burnt. Orchards, livestock in the thousands, and grapevines from well-known wineries have all suffered damage. Jared Stringer, vice-chair of the Adelaide Hills Wine Region, said the industry was still assessing the damage. "What we do know is approximately 1,100 hectares of grapevines are burnt," he said. "That makes up approximately one-third of Adelaide Hills production, so for any industry to lose one-third overnight it's going to be incredibly devastating." Mr Stringer said the Henschke family who pioneered grape growing in the Lenswood area may have lost their entire vineyard. Woodside's Barristers Block was also badly damaged in the fire with the vineyard destroyed. Owner Jan Siemelink-Allen said the fire came through quickly and when she left all she could see was a wall of flames. "In my 35 years in the industry I've never seen a bushfire go through vines like it has here and completely decimate them, they're normally green and lush and they don't burn easily," Ms Siemelink-Allen said. "They burnt out in less than half an hour, and with an intensity that you can't believe. "With the infrastructure of the vineyard, the loss of the crops and then you've got to think that that's about three years you'll be waiting for a crop of your own, so we're talking about a loss of well into a million dollars. "With labour costs, you're talking around $60,000 to $80,000 per hectare to replace everything." Ms Siemelink-Allen said the region's losses will affect the price of wine. "Two weeks ago, we were estimating the tonnes of grapes to sell; now we're hunting around trying to find grapes. "There are many people in the Adelaide Hills who have been affected and this will definitely affect the price of local fruit and wine. "I believe any fruit out there will be incredibly precious." Apple and Pear South Australia chief executive Susie Green said the fire came on the back of tough times for many growers in the Adelaide Hills. At least one grower has lost their entire orchard in the fire, and the full extent of the damage is yet to be assessed. "For some growers this is going to be heartbreaking and very difficult to deal with," Ms Green said. "This is by far the biggest week in the lead up to Christmas, so growers are doing everything they can to make sure there's fruit on the market and people will still have cherries on their table for Christmas." Over the next six months growers will assess whether their trees will reshoot and recover or whether they will have to be pulled out. "If the trees do have to be pushed out it could be five years before those growers will see an income from those areas," Ms Green said. "So an impact like that is just devastating." Help on hand from PIRSA and Livestock SA Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) officers are still assessing the agricultural losses. Deputy chief executive Mehdi Doroudi said animal health officers were on the ground helping stock owners deal with dead and injured animals. "They go and work with the farmers to make sure that all the animal welfare matters, if there is need for any disposal of animals, all of those matters are going to be worked through with the relevant property owners," Professor Doroudi said. Livestock SA is helping to coordinate hay donations for livestock producers who have been affected. President Joe Keynes said the immediate concern was to get some hay into those animals that are on the fireground without any fodder. "We've had some really generous donations of hay and so it's hay and hay only; we think hay is probably the easiest and quickest way to look after the animals in the short term," Mr Keynes said. "We have set up a hay drop at Oakbank racecourse and hay is already being received with the promise of more on the way… you just need to ring the Livestock SA office and you can book in a time to go and we will load you up with the hay that you require. "We're hoping over the next day or so there will be a stockpile of hay there for people to access." Mr Keynes said they were also helping to coordinate transport of hay and agistment of livestock if needed. "In terms of agistment, the stock agents we have spoken with think there isn't a high demand at the moment but things move quickly in a disaster situation like this," he said. "So if people would like to have animals agisted please get in and register that with the Livestock SA office and we can help with getting stock on stubble elsewhere for a little while." Source - https://www.abc.net.au