Wildfire readiness for California cannabis businesses

Prepare before an evacuation warning

The business continuity plan should also identify who can make decisions, where current records are stored, how employees and vendors are contacted, and which regulator, broker, carrier, landlord, lender, or customer notices may be needed.

Document the exposure

• Buildings, tenant improvements, equipment, stock, plants, work in process, and finished goods
• Average and peak values by location with the valuation basis and supporting records
• Utilities, HVAC, irrigation, alarms, security, access, and critical equipment dependencies
• Alternate suppliers, storage, production, testing, transportation, and customer options
• Expected cleanup, repair, replacement, replanting, relicensing, and restart constraints
• Policy contacts, notice instructions, deductibles, limits, sublimits, safeguards, and exclusions

Licensed product movement needs its own plan

Businesses should follow the current DCC instructions and emergency orders, not rely on a general insurance article for permission or timing.

Make the loss record usable away from the property

Store the contact list, current property and inventory schedules, policy instructions, and critical operating records where authorized decision makers can reach them if the location is closed. Assign responsibility for updating each item and record when the copy was last checked.

After an event, keep a dated log of official instructions, emergency decisions, movement of licensed product, temporary operations, mitigation work, expenses, and communications. That record helps the business, broker, carrier, regulator, and advisers work from the same sequence of facts.

• Confirm who can access off-site records and policy notice instructions
• Separate average values from seasonal or operational peaks
• Document alternate suppliers, laboratories, storage, and production options
• Preserve invoices, photographs, inventory records, and decision logs