Shelters Reopen : Homeless and Growers in Icy Grip of Winter

Farmers and nursery owners in Ventura County worked to protect their crops, while relief workers in the San Fernando Valley reopened two shelters for the homeless as cold weather continued to grip the area Thursday.

Terry Schaeffer, an agricultural meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Santa Paula, said Ventura County growers were “pulling out all the stops in most areas” to protect delicate plants and trees, particularly citrus and avocados.

Temperatures dropped into the low 30s and upper 20s earlier this week, but many farmers fended off the frost with smudge pots, anti-frost chemicals and wind machines, Schaeffer said. But Ventura County farmers were worried Thursday by forecasts of temperatures in the mid-20s or lower, Schaeffer said.

He said it may take days or weeks before farmers can assess damage from the the cold spell.

“It’s kind of early to tell,” said nurseryman Otto Klittich, owner of Otto & Sons Wholesale Nursery in Fillmore. He said effects of frost vary depending on the type of plants and the length and intensity of the cold. For now, he said, growers will keep a close eye on young, sensitive plants and pray for wind.

Winds Offer Protection

Wind protects plants by mixing warm air 200 or 300 feet off the ground with colder air below, sometimes raising the temperature enough to prevent frost, Schaeffer said. Farmers face problems because winds such as those that swept much of the San Fernando Valley this week have not been felt in Ventura County.

Thus, some farmers use wind machines in their fields or have helicopters fly over crops, he said.

The winds, some from 20 to 30 m.p.h., are credited with protecting fragile plants at Valley nurseries.

“So far we’ve been lucky. We’ve had a lot of wind,” said Steve McKinney, a foreman at Treeland Nursery Co. in Woodland Hills. “But, if the wind cuts out, we could have a lot of damage.”

Though a blessing to growers, wind can be a bane to the homeless, and two emergency shelters were reopened Thursday night in Pacoima and Van Nuys.

The San Fernando Valley Corps of the Salvation Army, which housed about 200 people during a four-day cold spell last week, will provide food and shelter for the homeless from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly through Monday.

Salvation Army Capt. John Purdell said about 45 people, many of them single men, stayed at the shelter Thursday night. The Salvation Army paid to house about 25 people--most of them single mothers with children--at local motels, he said.

The Pacoima Recreation Center is scheduled to operate a shelter through Saturday, but may extend the schedule if the cold weather persists, said Joseph Dickson, recreation director. The shelter, which opened for one night last week, does not provide meals but will distribute food that has been donated, he said.

The donations have been encouraging, Dickson said. “One lady called and said she would like to take nine of the homeless to her house and feed them for Christmas,” he said.