Toting up the storm damage

Power users were inconvenienced by the early January storms that swept through Northern California, but farmers—especially almond growers—were the ones who got hit with the real damage.

The Butte County Agriculture Commissioner’s Office estimates that, because of downed trees, local farmers lost an estimated $69 million in removal and replacement costs and lost production, with $65.1 million of that involving almond trees. Growers of prunes—or, as they’re now called, dried plums—lost $2.2 million and walnuts $1.9 million.

Over in Glenn County, officials estimated losses at $48 million, again mostly because of downed almond trees, which are notoriously vulnerable to high winds.