Valley farmers continue to clean up following strong winds

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The owner of Hunter Farms in Atwater was relieved to be able to re-open the pumpkin patch.

The winds made a sandy mess of the place.

"With the number of tents and shade coverings that we have, the shade coverings were completely destroyed," says Scott Hunter.

Hunter knew the wind damage would be extensive on Monday. He could hear the system whistling through the farm.

RELATED: Cleanup efforts underway as strong winds impact Central California

"When you're going at 30 miles an hour at 5 am, you know," he said.

The strong winds forced Hunter to put a halt to the almond harvest.

"We could not stay out in the field because in some of the older fields, there were trees that were blowing over and so for the safety of our employees, we needed to shut that down," he said.

Hunter lost several almond trees because of the wind event. Pistachio trees fared better than almond trees because they have a deeper root system.

The cornfield survived without too many problems.

"A couple of the outside rows, some of the corn blew over but nothing significant," he said. "So the corn maze is intact, ready to get people lost."

Scott didn't irrigate the corn. He figured wet soil would intensify any problems caused by the wind.

"Because we knew the weather was coming because we listen to Action News," he said. "You guys were telling us it was coming."