Tulare Lake growing as rising temperatures melt snowpack

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the past several weeks, Kings County residents have witnessed the historic Tulare Lake reemerge. With warmer days ahead, communities are on high alert for more possible flooding.

"Currently, we have about 100,000 acres flooded, and it tends to increase a little bit every day. It's a lot to take in," explained Kings County Sheriff's Sgt. Nate Ferrier.

Alice and Albert Cotner from Lemoore say they remember the impact of the lake refilling in the 1960s.

"In '69, it was a lot deeper on this levee than it is now, and around over there, right up along the Kings River, it broke and went around this way to the north," Cotner said.

They're hopeful that this time around, breaches that could impact hundreds of families won't happen.

Ferrier says multiple agencies have been working together around the clock to prepare for the snowmelt.

"The Army Corps of Engineers has done a great job at water releases, preparing for this upcoming snowmelt and warm temperatures, so there is a bit of room in the reservoirs to hold a lot of the snowmelt, and we hope that is the case," Ferrier said.

Ferrier says, in the meantime, reinforcing levees throughout the county will not stop.

"Everyone has worked really hard to mitigate the flooding as best we can, especially in cities like Corcoran and Stratford, and so far, so good," Ferrier said.

Despite how things are looking right now, Ferrier is urging anyone who lives near the lake or a flood zone area to be prepared for an evacuation should there be an unexpected levee breach.

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