FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – With the state entering its fourth drought year, even some big resorts with millions of dollars in modern snow-making equipment don’t have all their lifts running. The mid-sized and family-owned resorts struggling most had hoped to reopen for the Presidents Day holiday, traditionally the year’s biggest weekend for skiing.
A recent winter storm washing over California originated in the tropics and dropped more rain than the much needed snow. While any wet weather is welcomed in California, the storm didn’t end the drought or put all the dormant resorts back in business.
“We’re basically the canary in the coal mine,” said Janet Tuttle, who owns Donner Ski Ranch northwest of Lake Tahoe and one of about seven resorts forced to close mid-season. “It’s kind of a sad state here in California.”
A stingy snowfall had left Donner’s mountain face marked with brown patches of exposed dirt and rock. Tuttle and her husband, Marshall, closed the resort’s six chairlifts and two beginner runs by mid-January. They reopened Wednesday with a little boost from the recent storm, hoping to keep the lifts running this weekend.
She worried about more warm weather in the forecast. “I’m not very happy about that,” she said.