A lot of food and money lost the past week, but supposed to warm-up tonight.
Huge crop loss in state freeze
Citrus, avocados, strawberries are hit hard by cold snap in south state, San Joaquin Valley.
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 6:50 am PST Tuesday, January 16, 2007
California's $1.3 billion citrus industry is facing massive losses after three nights of freezing temperatures up and down the state.
"The growers know there is damage, and they expect it to be significant," said Dave Kranz, manager of media services for the California Farm Bureau Federation.
As much as 70 percent of the state's orange crop has been destroyed, according to state officials and farmers.
The state's avocado and strawberry crops also have been hard hit, and other fruits and vegetables ranging from leafy greens to blueberries may be in jeopardy as well, Kranz said, explaining that it takes several days to assess damage after a wave of freezing weather.
A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the state Department of Food and Agriculture, spent the holiday weekend touring farms and groves in the central and southern parts of the state. He said damage from this past weekend's freeze is likely to exceed that from a 1998 freeze that destroyed about $700 million worth of citrus and other produce across the state.
"This is one of those freezes that, unfortunately, we'll all remember," Kawamura said.
