A look at Tulare Lake through Kings County's new airboat

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A number of atmospheric rivers this past winter brought Tulare Lake back to life but at a cost to local farmers and people living in the area.

Wednesday, the Kings County Sheriff's Office gave Action News an exclusive look at the flood damage from their new airboat.

Now that the water is slowly receding, the sheriff's office is working to patrol and navigate the lake despite debris and irrigation lines.

Officials say that water could take two years to fully go down, leaving many farmers in the area without an opportunity to grow their crops.

After record rainfall and snowpack this winter, many parts of the valley saw an abundance of water, causing tons of debris that can still be seen at Tulare Lake.

But this wasn't always the case.

"You drive down this area, you never would realize that this used to be a lake and then here we are," said Nate Ferrier with the Kings County Sheriff's Office.

Tulare Lake was once known as the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, but Ferrier says in more recent years, its been used for irrigation and turned into farmland.

"Kings County is known for its AG industry, and it feeds the world. A lot of crops are grown where this water is today - pistachios, tomatoes, cotton, so it's a big hit to our ag industry," said Ferrier.

Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau says the water will continue to cause havoc among farmers for years to come.

"It isn't just this year that we expect to see impacts, but this creates something that we even see remnants of 18 months from now simply because that water doesn't dissipate very quickly," said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen says because of the clay layer in the lake, it takes the water more time to filter below it, leaving growers in a tough spot.

"But for a lot of folks, there are lands that lose that opportunity in a year like this year. During tough times already, agricultural markets for the most parts aren't very bright right now. So, it just compounds the effects and it makes it more difficult to try and make it to the long term," said Jacobsen.

On the lake, you can still see tons of debris and parts of homes and cars underwater.

But with the help of FEMA funds, the Kings County Sheriff's Office got a new airboat to help navigate obstacles and patrol the lake.

Ferrier says at its peak this year, Tulare Lake was around 120-thousand acres underwater, and now only around 70-thousand acres remain flooded.

"The lake is receding. I've been down here several times in the last month, and every time I come out here, it's a little lower," said Ferrier. "So, we're grateful that it's continuing to drop."

The Kings County Sheriff's Office says they also plan to use the airboat to patrol the Kings River.

Jacobsen says farmers are awaiting this year's El Nino to see what effect it can have on the agricultural industry next year.

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