LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The weather news from 1976 and 1977 sounds familiar today.
Clear rainless days progress one after another, mild temperatures prevail and lake levels drop. Today’s jet stream patterns duplicate 1977’s.
Lake County’s rainfall in 1976 and 1977 totaled about 25 inches, only half of average, and 1977 was the driest year on record in California.
In early 1976 the drought garnered little attention in the press. Roy Dufrain Sr. at the Record-Bee noticed and urged Lakeport officials to get serious about finding reliable long-term water sources.
Wells showed levels 5 to 10 feet lower in May than they did a year earlier, but officials weren’t yet worried about a crisis.
Clear Lake slipped below “zero Rumsey” in September 1976 when water stopped flowing over the Grigsby Riffle in Cache Creek.
Rain in November raised hopes briefly, but Clear Lake continued to fall faster than the rain did.
On Nov. 27, 1976, the low water revealed a car submerged at Clear Lake State Park and resolved the December 1967 disappearance of Melvin Murrin and Chester Lowe.
When the drought continued into 1977, the Board of Supervisors asked Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency in Lake County and make the county eligible for federal and state assistance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not yet exist but other agencies and programs provided drought relief.
The state of California made $10 million available through the Livestock Raisers’ Disaster Relief Act of 1977 for owners and lessees of nonirrigated land in drought-stricken areas.
The federal Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service assisted farmers with water conservation and irrigation projects.
Lake County and nearby counties hired rainmakers to seed clouds, a project that produced mixed results.
Water conservation programs promoted ways to use and reuse water wisely. Lakeport instituted severe water rationing in May and contemplated pumping lake water to recharge the municipal wells.
The Bureau of Land Management burned 3,500 acres of water-holding brush on Cow Mountain, which released some water into Scotts Creek.
The lake level continued to drop, leaving docks and boat ramps high and dry; drivers created shortcuts through dry creek beds and Lake Mendocino shrank to a puddle. Clear Lake’s level reached -3.39 feet in November 1977
Lake County’s pear industry suffered from the drought more than did other crops.
Pear growers reported a crop only about three quarters of what they expected, the fruit never reached full size, and frost and hail damaged fruit.
Some growers resorted to irrigating their orchards when the water table dropped, but pumping lowered the wells even more and growers couldn’t keep up with the vicious cycle.
Walnut production remained high in spite of some frost damage and vineyards survived reasonably well.
Storms in November and December delivered a gift to Lake County and residents began to hope that the drought would end soon. Creeks flowed again and wells began to rise.
Rain pelted Lake County with nearly 14 inches on 22 days in December and January. One headline captured the story: “Storms End Drought As Floods Cause Damage Around County.”
Clear Lake rose four and a half feet in one week and passed above zero Rumsey on Jan. 10.
Had Clear Lake ended 1977 at a normal level instead of a negative, the 45 inches of rain that elevated Clear Lake 11 feet in 1978 would have inundated the shoreline for weeks.
As the current news sounds more and more like 1977’s news, one wonders how Lake County would cope with another drought of the same magnitude.
Lake County’s population has doubled since 1977 and would strain resources more than it did in the 1970s.
Water districts are warning their customers that current conditions compare to those of 1977 and are urging conservation.
For further reading:
http://www.cwsl.edu/content/klein/California%20three%20year%20drought.pdf
Number of acre-feet in runoff in 1977; water levels in reservoirs
Lake County newspapers on microfilm in the Lake County Library chronicle the local drought story.
Online sources show the larger picture.
California Drought of 1976 and 1977: Extent, Damage and Governmental Response
http://www.gao.gov/assets/130/120157.pdf
Major Floods and Droughts in California
http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/hydrology/state_fd/cawater1.html
The California Drought: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Social Policy
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1308163/pdf/jaba00050-0027.pdf
Drought in California
http://nwri-usa.org/documents/DroughtBrochure_Jeanine.pdf
Jan Cook has lived in Lake County for about 40 years. She works for the Lake County Library, is the editor of the Lake County Historical Society's Pomo Bulletin and is a history correspondent for Lake County News. If you have questions or comments please contact Jan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .