Farmers View Rainfall as a Mixed Blessing

Hard rains that have battered the county for nearly two weeks have been a mixed blessing for farmers, beating down ripe strawberries on the plant, while at the same time washing salt away from root systems and invigorating trees.

Strawberry grower Mike Conroy said the rains have damaged a small portion of the 150 acres of strawberries he raises on the Oxnard Plain, but he’s taking it in stride.

“Any time you’re harvesting strawberries and we have rain, there’s a certain amount of damage,” he said.

Conroy said it’s difficult to quantify the level of damage and the amount of delay caused by the rain, but he called the setback “just a blip on the screen.”

Mild winter weather through the first part of the month left strawberry growers countywide with an early and bountiful harvest--berry production across Southern California is three times greater this season than it was a year ago.

But the pounding rain of the past two weeks has obliterated some ripe fruit or left it saturated with water, Conroy said. The good news is that the rains didn’t come during the height of the harvest.

“If something like this hit in the latter part of March or April, it would be devastating,” he said. “In the long run, I’m sure this is going to be a beneficial rain to the leaching of salts in the soil and invigorated plant growth. It’s a speed bump for production; however, it’s not like we’re not used to it.”

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said the rains have been a boon for citrus growers.

“The citrus and avocado guys are just walking around with big grins on their faces,” he said. “The fruit will start to size up.”

For citrus growers, the storms have brought nourishing nitrogen to the soil. The rain is also expected to wash salt away from root systems, enriching soil and trees.

Forecasters expected the latest storm system to move into the county Tuesday night, bringing heavy rains with a chance of thunderstorms. According to the National Weather Service, rainfall from this system could bring 1 to 2 inches in coastal areas and 2 to 4 inches in the mountains.

Showers should taper off tonight.

There will be a chance of showers again Thursday morning, with skies becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Meteorologists expect variable clouds Friday with a chance of showers.

The weather service has continued a flash-flood watch through today in the Ranch fire area in Upper Ojai, where in December flames scorched 4,400 acres, charring vegetation that anchors hillsides.

Should area residents observe substantial hillside slippage or large volumes of flowing water, officials warn that they should evacuate immediately.

The recent storms have not yet brought the parched county back to normal rainfall levels so far this rain year, leaving Ventura with only 87% of its typical rainfall for late February and other areas of the county still as low as 55% of normal.

But the hard rains in the past week have raised hopes that county rainfall totals could soon normalize.

Casitas Dam is at 79% of normal for this time of year. Matilija Dam is at 81%, Simi Valley is at 68%, and Thousand Oaks still has the most to go, at 55% of normal.

“We’re catching up,” said Dolores Taylor, senior hydrologist for the Ventura County Flood Control District. “And there’s more coming.”

Between 8 a.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday, storms dumped 1.2 inches at the Casitas Recreation Center, 1.36 inches in Upper Ojai, and more than half an inch in Santa Paula and Port Hueneme.

Heavy rains beginning during the Presidents Day weekend are blamed for contributing to a sewage spill and large sinkhole that occurred Tuesday morning near Arundell Avenue and Arundell Circle in Ventura.

Dirt and silt pushed around by pounding rain clogged a sewer line in the area, causing more than 600 gallons of sewage to overflow from a manhole and spill into Arundell Barranca.

The effluent flowed into Ventura Harbor near Beachmont Street, forcing officials to post warning signs at several spots in the harbor and at Marina Park.

When city workers arrived about 11 a.m. to unclog the line, rain-saturated earth surrounding the manhole collapsed, causing a 15-foot-deep sinkhole that measured 10 feet in diameter.

No one was injured when the cave-in occurred. Officials said the sinkhole is not in an area where cars or pedestrians travel. City crews were still at the site Tuesday night.

County officials are still bracing for landslides, although no major ones have occurred yet.

“We’ve been fortunate so far,” said Sandi Wells, Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman.

County officials are concerned about the potential for mudslides resulting from the hard rain. Whether hillsides give way depends on how hard and fast it rains, officials said. And public safety workers will keep an eye on hillsides for at least a week after the rains let up.

“It can come down a week afterward,” Wells said of potential for slides. “If we have the bulk of our rain over the next week or two, we’ll continue to watch after that. After it’s over, we could still have land movement if it’s saturated.”

Officials are concerned about the Rincon area north of Ventura, where a fire burned about 250 acres at the same time as the Ranch fire, and the La Conchita area where, nearly five years ago, 11 tons of mud and debris rolled down hillsides, smashing nine homes and leaving the tiny coastal community devastated.

Wells said the county’s swift-water rescue team, a group of firefighters trained to pull victims from fast-moving water, will probably patrol the county today in case flood waters rise. In addition, engine companies might patrol their own communities looking for flooding.

Public works crews will probably patrol roads, watching for debris and slides, Wells said.

The Flood Control District reported no substantial flooding as of Tuesday.

Over the weekend, however, the rains prompted 10 minor flooding calls throughout the county--mostly in Simi Valley, where Arroyo Simi and several washes flooded a handful of backyards, Wells said.

Times Community News reporter Holly J. Wolcott contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control District for the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

*--*

24-hour rain to Rainfall Percent of Normal 8 a.m. since normal rainfall Location Tuesday Oct. 1 rainfall to date Camarillo 0.20 5.85 64% 9.08 Casitas Dam 0.66 12.76 79% 16.09 Casitas Rec. Center 1.20 11.61 72% 16.20 Fillmore 0.75 8.42 65% 13.02 Matilija Dam 0.95 14.88 81% 18.44 Moorpark 0.29 6.10 62% 9.90 Ojai 1.03 9.93 68% 14.53 Upper Ojai 1.36 12.31 78% 15.74 Oxnard 0.34 7.50 76% 9.92 Piru 0.20 6.53 56% 11.61 Port Hueneme 0.63 6.97 72% 9.73 Santa Paula 0.77 8.03 66% 12.10 Simi Valley 0.40 6.52 68% 9.57 Thousand Oaks 0.40 5.71 55% 10.35 Ventura Govt. Center 0.78 9.50 87% 10.97

*--*

Source: Ventura County Flood Control District