STATEMENT BY SECRETARY A.G. KAWAMURA ON GOVERNOR’S EMERGENCY DECLARATION FOR FREEZING TEMPERATURES

SACRAMENTO, January 12, 2007 - The Governor's emergency proclamation shows how serious a threat cold weather poses to California. I would like to remind all Californians – in agriculture and all other walks of life – that it is crucial to follow safety steps in order to be prepared for freezing temperatures.  People should protect themselves, their families, their pets, their livestock and their plants. While these low temperatures don't happen very often, it is important to remember that they present a high risk.

At the California Department of Food and Agriculture, we are responding to the threat by working with emergency officials up and down the state to make fairgrounds available as warming centers, where necessary. Additionally, we are working with the state's citrus industry to assess potential freeze damage to the crop, much of which is still on trees in groves in the Central Valley.