Spring Storms Drop Snow in Fresno County Mountains

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- These spring storms are bringing fresh snow to the mountains and foothills. But not everyone is happy to see it.

Another Valley storm has people in the Fresno County Mountains pulling out their snow blowers.

CHP Officer Tim Santoro said, "Right now since the ski resort has closed for the season, tourism and overall traffic have been down quite a bit."

More than a foot of snow allowed officials at Sierra Summit Ski Resort to change their minds and open up business for at least one more weekend. Starting Friday idle ski lifts will be moving skiers and snowboarders up the mountain.

That's good news down the road for deli owner Norman Kato. "Shaver's been known for snow all the way to June. So its five thousand feet and so anything can happen so we welcome the snow anytime."

While some welcome the snow others are left to dig their way out of a financial hole.

It's not uncommon this time of year to see a couple boats and people fishing at the marina here at Shaver Lake. But the recent storms have put a damper on some local businesses.

Greg Powell said, "I think we had our first customer just now. Usually we have a lot of fisherman and stuff up here ... with this kind of weather it's slowing us down a bit."

Powell is the general manager of a sporting goods store. He stopped renting ski and snowboard equipment last week. Lately, he's been stocking shelves full of summer rental items because he was expecting warmer temperatures.

"It's not busy enough to keep that section open," said Powell.

While Sierra Summit will be cashing in on this fresh powder -- Powell says they'll lose out on anywhere between five hundred to six hundred dollars.

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storm, shaver lake, sierra summit, fresno county, local, tommy tran

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