San Joaquin Farm Bureau, fire crews share concerns amid unseasonable heatwave

Fire crews and farmers are staying alert as temperatures across the Central Valley continue to break records. 

"If this was July, it'd be a normal day, but it isn't," San Joaquin Farm Bureau Executive Director Andrew Genasci said.

"Mostly heat exhaustion is what we're looking for," Woodbridge Fire District Battalion Chief Eric Johnson explained.

Both farmers and fire crews are dealing with record-breaking temperatures for March.

The warm weather is helping dry out the landscape before spring even starts.

"With it cooling down right after, it shouldn't be a huge issue, but this is new territory," Genasci shared. "This isn't something we see regularly."

Crews and animals out in the fields aren't used to this type of weather this early in the year.

"Take a break, cool down, get some water," Genasci said. "Just try to make sure everybody is safe."

But the farm bureau says this warmup won't impact harvest, which, for many, is quickly approaching.

"It's warm, but it's not killing plants," Genasci explained. "It's probably going to change the time frames we're looking at for everything up to harvest and into harvest, but no huge negatives right now that I'm hearing. If this extends out a couple extra days, then you can be seeing problems where everybody's trying to get water at the same time."

Speaking of the water, the already limited snowpack is quickly melting, which means the delta is freezing.

Woodbridge Fire District is warning residents to be cautious if they want to cool off.

"With that in mind, make sure you're wearing your PFDs," Johnson said. "Be aware of the strong currents right now because we still have the snow melt going on and the fast currents going down. We still have a lot of entanglement hazards underneath the water you may not be able to see, but you can get snagged up and cause injuries."

Peak boating season starts Memorial Day, so while not too many people are out on the water, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"I have noticed a lot more people are coming in the rivers just because of the mussel situation in the lakes," Johnson shared. "Some people don't want to deal with that, so they're coming out [to the water.]"