Temperatures Threaten Homeless, Agriculture

A blast of arctic air that has left most of the country in a state of frostbite has made its way into town, causing homeless shelters to add beds, crops to freeze and growers to pray for relief.

A frost advisory issued Sunday will remain in effect through tonight for the colder agricultural areas, including Bonsall, Fallbrook and Pauma Valley. Temperatures that plunged into the low 20s prompted the advisory, National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said.

“Tuesday morning should be the coldest. . . . Bonsall could get as low as 23 degrees and Escondido might hit 24,” Shigehara said. “It’s not as cold as last year when it snowed in La Mesa, but it’s the third time in the past two months that the temperatures have really gotten down there.”

Lindbergh Field recorded a low of 42 degrees Monday, 3 degrees above the record low for that date.

Growers Are Ready to Fight

Although damaging cold is unusual after Feb. 1, many local growers are ready to fight the freeze, armed with orchard heaters, wind machines and sprinkler systems. Doug Anderson of Pauma Valley is one such grower who expects to be out in his fields even before his frost alarms go off.

“I’m . . . as ready as I possibly can be,” said Anderson, who owns 100 acres of oranges, lemons and avocados. “We’ll listen to the frost report early in the evening to see what we can expect and start checking on the temperatures in the grove around 8 or 9 p.m.

“When it gets down to 34 degrees, I’ll start the wind machines. When it gets down to 30 or 29 degrees, I’ll turn on the orchard heaters. They probably are one of our best defenses, other than prayer, and I do a lot of that.”

Oranges and other citrus crops freeze below 28 degrees. The actual damage is noticed a couple of days later, when the fruit thaws and water drains out, causing the fruit to shrivel, Anderson said.

When avocados freeze, at 29 degrees, they become black and mushy. Strawberries are threatened below 32 degrees and meet a fate similar to avocados, Anderson said.

In 1988, county growers saw $40 million worth of crop damage, Shigehara said, adding, “The best advice I can give to growers is: ‘Be prepared.’ ”

Beds for Homeless Added

The cold prompted Father Joe Carroll at the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center to open up 150 extra beds to shelter the homeless for the second night in a row. The Vista Armory also opened Monday night, as did the Salvation Army Men’s Shelter, which planned to provide beds for 80 people.

San Diego Life Ministries downtown expanded its sleeping capacity by opening its chapel, which will sleep 150 people in addition to the 160 the organization normally sleeps.

The city, however, did not provide homeless people with protection against the cold Sunday or Monday night, adhering to its rule not to open shelters unless the mercury dips to 35 degrees.

The cold snap, which began over the weekend, is the result of a high-pressure system pushing in from the Gulf of Alaska, Shigehara said. The weekend storm dumped more than 3 1/2 inches of rain in the mountains and brought snow down to the 2,500-foot level.

The icy air will keep at bay the possibility of warmer temperatures at least until Thursday, when another storm developing off the coast will bring enough clouds to eliminate the frost and low temperatures, Shigehara said. Rain may accompany the clouds.