Farmers scramble to protect plants from freeze

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Blossoms have already popped in Valley almond orchards. They're pretty to look at but they're also very delicate when the mercury plummets.

Mitch Sangha says almond growers are worried they could take a devastating hit should temperatures dip into the mid-20's in some orchards. Sangha was hoping to harvest his first crop in this younger, three-year-old almond orchard but that might not happen.

Many citrus growers will run their wind machines to move warmer air around overnight. Sprinklers are already running in some groves.

Many navel oranges are still on the tree but Clovis grower James McFarlane says their thick rind and high sugar content protects them from the cold better than other varieties.

McFarlane is also an almond grower so the next few days will be an anxious time.

It's normally cold during the winter but again it is the timing of this freeze that makes the trees so susceptible to crop damage.