Riverside County beekeeper loses 80 hives, millions of bees in Verona Fire

A Riverside County beekeeper says that last week's Verona Fire, which broke out near Hemet and burned hundreds of acres, caused him to lose 80 hives and millions of bees. 

Brandon Teller, of BeeDoctor Bee Removal, says the loss could have a critical impact on the region's farmers and shoppers.

"As the beekeeper, that's devastating to me," Teller said. He said that the small number of remaining bees at the apiary 

Teller usually goes across Southern California, rescuing unwanted European honeybees, which he would then bring back to his property for care. Once healthy enough to return to work, he'd then rent them out to alfalfa and almond farmers to pollinate their crops. 

"We say, 'Hey, we've got plenty of hives right here. They're ready to go, they've got fresh queens and they're hungry,'" Teller said. "Farmers love it."

He says that by losing three to four million bees, the impact will be felt across Southern California. 

"Keeping bees and maintaining bees at this scale is what allows the farmer to produce food at a lower cost," Teller said. 

While he knows there's a lot of work ahead, he says the main message taken away from the loss is fire prevention and conservation of California's natural landscape.

"The saying goes: This land is my land, this land is your land. It's all of our land and we have to conserve it, we have to preserve it, we have to maintain it, and we have to do it responsibly," Teller said.