Water levels at Tulare Lake receding despite recent storms

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Last year's record storms led to the return of the long-time dry Tulare Lake as waters flooded into the basin, putting vast swaths of farmland underwater.

Today, it's looking quite different.

Last summer, Tulare Lake covered around 120,000 acres of land in Kings County.

"If you think about Kings County, it's about 890,000 acres total, and so with that coverage, over 10% of our county was covered in water, which is a pretty remarkable thing to think about." Kings County Sheriff's Sgt. Nate Ferrier said.

In the months since, the water has receded drastically, now covering around 4,500 acres of land.

"With the recent storms that we've had, really had minimal impact to what's left of the lake," Ferrier said.

He explained that farm equipment, crops, and even homes were covered in water last year, but now most of that has dried up, allowing everyday activities to return.

"Farming is coming back to life. There's a lot of tractors moving around. People are already working in their fields to prepare the ground for planting and harvesting," Ferrier added.

He said the concern isn't from the recent rain on the Valley floor. It's from the snowpack in the months to come.

"When that starts to melt, and all that comes flooding down into the lakes, and then the lakes have to release a lot of water, that's when we have the issue," he explained.

However, despite our recent storms, the snowpack is still minimal compared to last year.

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