South County feeling parched

A record low 1.46 inches of rainfall in Gilroy over the calendar year makes 2013 the “driest year on record” dating back to 1957, according to forecaster Steve Anderson of the National Weather Service.
This year’s rainfall shatters the previous low of 9.18 inches experienced in 1989, Anderson said.
“We had no ‘El Niño’ or ‘La Niña’ this year to drive the weather patterns,” mentioned Anderson, who believes there will be many studies for years to come to further explain why 2013 experienced such a low total.
The average rainfall per calendar year is 20.5, according to Anderson.
No rain is forecasted for the rest of the year, either.
The lack of rain has resulted in a longer fire season as well.
About an hour and 20 minute drive south from Gilroy down Highway 1, roughly 1,000 fire and emergency personnel were deployed to battle blazes from a large wildfire in Big Sur, which started late Sunday, Dec. 15 near the intersection of Pfeiffer Ridge Road and Highway 1, said Andrew Madsen, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest. The fire was fully contained by Dec. 20. As of Monday, the damaged areas covered more than 900 acres and 34 destroyed homes – including the house of the chief of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade.
In 2013, Santa Clara County had an emergency declaration of being a drought disaster county, according to Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Eric Wylde. If forage losses exceed 50 percent of a normal year, producers may be eligible to participate in the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Non-insured Crop Assistance Program. There were 13 counties in the state that have been declared disaster areas due to drought conditions this season.
“If things don’t change, we’ll write another one next year,” said Wylde.
He noted that hay growers and those in the cattle industry, which comprises two-thirds of the county, were the two most effected by the drought since each relies on natural precipitation. With so little rain, leading to a shortage of natural grass production, cattle ranchers must provide supplemental feed and, in turn, may decrease their stock.
However, Wylde explained that all farmers are impacted with higher operational costs for water and pump motors.
“If this continues, we’re likely to see more of an impact on consumers,” Wylde concluded.