Weather & Earthquake Delays

A report from one of our major suppliers:

Major winter storms closed Siskyou pass in southern Oregon for 18 hours Sunday and early on Monday morning. Although now open, it is "chains only" for several hours of mountain passes. This means that many trucks carrying produce from California and Mexico are running up to 18 hours behind schedule, which may impact availability.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit an area due south of Mexicali Valley yesterday (Sunday, April 4th). Two other quakes, both of smaller magnitude, hit different areas of California, and over 90 aftershocks have taken their toll. There is no power or communication in Mexicalli, Baja, at the moment, and some roads are buckled. Although not catastrophic, this will impact a few growers and products, especially peppers, zucchini and other crops grown by Hector Sada (Bon Terra) and Agricola Empresario (Cesar Sanchez who grows for Sunny Valley). Just 1/2 an hour north of the border is El Centro, so there is substantial damage in that area. This has stopped production at Sue Heger's ranch for the short term. We have not heard yet if there was enough infrastructural damage to affect other growers, or facilities in Yuma, Holtville, or Nogales. Initial reports are that there was little or no impact on the Sinnaloa - Nogales corridor through Hermosillo, but there may be road restrictions or problems westbound from Arizona to Los Angeles.