Farmers on Alert as Cold Threatens Their Crops : Frost: Expected overnight temperatures as low as 19 degrees could cause substantial damage to avocados, lemons and strawberries.

As temperatures threatened to dip well below freezing Friday night, Ventura County farmers nervously watched over their fields to prevent a cold snap from destroying valuable crops for the fourth year in a row.

There was no frost damage reported after temperatures dropped slightly below the 32-degree mark early Friday morning, said Terry Schaeffer, an agricultural meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Farmers were helped Thursday night by unexpected clouds that moved into the area. But Schaeffer predicted clear skies during the next few days, a factor that could lower temperatures.

In the inland areas, minimum temperatures were expected to drop as low as 19 degrees early today, Schaeffer said. Along the coast, low temperatures were expected to be in the mid-20s.

As the mercury dropped Friday night, homeless people crammed into shelters in Oxnard. The Zoe Christian Center, which usually houses 120 to 130 homeless people, had 162 and was nearing its capacity of 180. The Ventura County Rescue Mission was at capacity with 50 people and the National Guard Armory, a temporary shelter for up to 200 people, had 70.

For county farmers the cold will continue to be a worry. The blast from the Arctic could mean high losses for avocado, lemon and strawberry growers, agricultural officials said.

Earlier this year, farmers lost $45 million due to weather damage, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Dave Buettner said.

The worst recent frosts came in 1987, when a January cold snap caused $45 million in crop damage and another one in December of that year resulted in a $51.4-million loss. Buettner said frost damage was more localized in 1988 and 1989 and that figures are unavailable for those years.

To prevent losses, farmers are cranking up wind machines, lighting orchard heaters, applying chemical frost repellents and watering groves in an attempt to raise temperatures in the fields, said Rex Laird, executive director for the Ventura County Farm Bureau.

Water is effective against the cold because it retains daytime heat better than cold, dry soil, Laird said. But because the drought has limited the availability of water, some fields are drier than usual this time of year, he said.

In some cases, farmers are also paying high fees for helicopters to stay on standby, Laird said. Helicopters raise temperatures by circulating the air.

“The worst scenario is, it just gets dead calm, and the cold just kind of sits there,” Laird said.

Will Gerry, a Santa Rosa Valley lemon grower, said he turned on wind machines just after 6 p.m. Thursday and kept them on until clouds moved in early in the morning and the mercury began to rise slightly. In parts of his groves, it dipped as low as 30 degrees, he said.

One crop of lemons he is particularly worried about is due to be picked in February. Another younger harvest may be ready by April, he said.

“It’s difficult, sleepwise, for farmers,” said Gerry, who owns 75 acres of lemons. “I kept getting up thinking the clouds were going to go away and the temperatures would drop. It’s frightening because you put all of your work into this. You’re talking about a major loss of your crop.”

Gerry said that if temperatures dip too low, he will be limited in what he can do to save his lemons. A severe, prolonged frost would damage the trees themselves.

“There’s only so much you can do,” he said. “There is every possibility that this could be the night where, later on this week, will mean brown orchards all over the place.”

While farmers are on the watch for frost, the unusually cold temperatures also have California Highway Patrol officials on guard.

Officer Curt Rhyne said motorists are required to carry chains on California 33 and that wet parts of California 150 could freeze over during the night.

“It’s just real cold,” he said.