CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : FRESNO : 4th Drought Year Seen as Disastrous

No one is yet predicting a fourth year of drought in Central California, but the possibility is on the minds of many San Joaquin Valley growers and irrigation water management officials. “There’s no sense of panic at this point, but if we don’t get some rain in the valley and snow in the Sierra in the next few weeks, that could change,” Robert Leake, manager of the Fresno Irrigation District, said Friday. A fourth dry year would be disastrous for valley growers who depend on irrigation water for their crops. The panic could start before the end of the year because most of the season’s rain and snow fall in December, January and February.