Freezing conditions have local citrus growers on edge. A steady temperature in the 20s is when danger really sets in for fruit such as oranges.
“We’ve got basically 100% of the crop on the tree right now,” said Keith Nilmeier, a citrus grower.
Fresno County grower Keith Nilmeier is working to warm up his 70 acre ranch. With close to a half million dollars worth of fruit at stake he is pulling out all the stops.
First by irrigating his orchards.
“Just to super hydrate the ground, get as much moisture in there and release the heat,” said Nilmeier.
Then as part of a one two combo punch, he’s running wind machines and burning nearly 200 cardboard bins of peach pits. Each container weighs about 1,000 lbs. Burn long and hot like coals.
“That just disperses the cold air lower at the ground and pulls it up to get rid of it. Then that heat going up helps us create our own inversion layer which we’re trying to reach out with our wind machines and pull it to shove it back down to the ground,” said Nilmeier.
While growers like Nilmeier may not be a fan of the frigid temperatures, some valley natives are.
“It’s got to be cold for the holiday. If it's not cold you don't feel like it's Christmas time,” said Johnny Ong.
“I love cold weather, absolutely,” said Jordan Huenergardt, a shopper.
In an effort to make the conditions more comfortable for his girlfriend, Jordan Huenergardt bought her a nice thick coat.
“It’s going to be really, really warm now,” said Lindsey Cardwell.
Nilmeier knows in his line of work, the word warm is hard to come by.
“It’s just something we accept and it’s part of our lifestyle. We hope we can go out and do battle with Mother Nature and win, but she’s fickle,” said Nilmeier.