Tubac Bee Man - Lightning Strike Fire

On Sunday August 8th my good friend, John Reynolds, lost multiple structures on his property where he bottles his famous local honey from his small and modest honeybee farm. A lightning strike near Elephant Head started the fire that spread to his property despite the heroic efforts from the local fire department.


John is a second-generation beekeeper and has been making honey for over 40 years. He had a humble and small farm that produced one of the best honeys, known for its pureness and taste. A definite local favorite.

Not only did John lose his honeybee farm, he also lost his rare 50 year collection of animal racks that was stored and displayed in a building on the property. The stunning collection of racks were collected by John on and around his property, many of which were found as he was out harvesting honey from his bees.


To make matters worse, his property insurance coverage had recently been paused due to a small water leak and, though John continued to make payments while they worked through the issue, his payments were rejected and they ultimately canceled his coverage. 

We are trying to raise $20,000 to assist John with replacing his honey filling machine and to start rebuilding the lost structures. The building that housed the bottling machine was built by John and his father. He is a hands-on man and will make the funds go a long way towards getting his business back as soon as possible. The animal racks cannot be replaced but he can begin collecting again as he rebuilds and restarts his honeybee farm.  

John is devastated by this loss but is trying to stay optimistic as he searches for ways to rebuild. I am asking that we - friends, family, strangers, business owners, and honey lovers – support John in taking that first step to rebuilding. Let’s help clean up this mess and get John back on his feet so he can  continue his 40+ years of producing the local honey that many of us know and love.