If you had been up most of the night, sometimes as long as a week at a time for up to three months, and that challenge had ended, wouldn’t you be ready to celebrate?

Before almond growers developed the technology to protect their orchards against frost damage by modifying their irrigation systems, this was the challenge they faced from early February to late April. In the Chico area, almond buds, blossoms and developing fruit can be lost if subjected to freezing temperatures for even short periods of time.

While it is rare for temperatures to dip very far below 32 degrees for long, even temperatures of 29 or 30 degrees can cause severe or even total losses of an almond crop if sustained. Almond growers in the San Joaquin Valley and even as far north as southern Butte County typically do not experience damaging frost, so the phenomenon of “fighting frost” is somewhat unique to raising almonds in the Chico area. Historically, the growers fought frost by placing “smudge pots” throughout their orchards, which had to be tended to keep them burning during periods when temperatures began to dip into the freezing zone, usually from about midnight to after sunrise.

At the “end of frost,” you can imagine how ready they were to celebrate spring. That history has given rise to one of Chico’s very special events, the End Of Frost celebration. This year the 44^th annual party is to be held at Manzanita Place on May 8.

In recent years, farmers have learned to design their irrigation systems so that water can be sprayed throughout the entire orchard simultaneously, as opposed to being applied to one block at a time. This design requires the ability to deliver huge volumes of water under pressure from ground water wells, which are the sources of irrigation water for most Chico area orchards. Ground water is about 54 degrees, and delivered at the rate of about 30 gallons per acre per minute can create enough air disturbance and raise the temperature in the orchard enough to reduce the threat of frost. While much more environmentally friendly than smudge pot, this technique has limitations and might not prevent damage if the temperature fell to about 25 degrees and remained at that level for several hours. However. it is usually enough to prevent damage from most of the light frost events common to our area.

These days, farmers will be roused from their sleep by their frost alarms, set to warn them when temperatures are approaching freezing. Many have sophisticated systems that tell them which orchards are in danger and where to start the water first. They may even be able to go back to bed, if all the systems start and continue to work properly. This allows farmers to extend the range and size of their operations far beyond the limits of spending the night tending smudge pots on small acreages. While “fighting frost” has become somewhat less challenging, farmers have held onto the “End Of Frost” celebration.

This event has no purpose other than to allow the community to gather, enjoy a banquet, draw names for door prizes provide by local businesses, and celebrate another spring season. It is one of the few events that does not have some social or political agenda and is not a fundraiser, although any excess funds are donated to youth organizations who volunteer to hand out prizes, etc. It is open to the public, so anyone can buy tickets and attend. If you win one of the dozen or so most valuable prizes (like an all-expense paid trip to somewhere exotic) you have to agree to serve on the planning committee for the following year’s celebration. Thus the “End Of Frost” has been perpetuated for 44 years as part of the very special character of Chico.

Read more at www.end-of-frost.org