The Friday Flyer • September 18, 2015

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
City Council approves contracts for Pancake Breakfast is
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This tree on Old Wrangler Dr. was one of several that fell during a brief storm on Sep- a large pine in the Main Gate median, had to be removed because “it was uprooting tember 9. Some blocked streets and were removed by Operations crews. Another tree, and leaning toward traffic,” according to a report provided by the POA.
Trees down: blame drought or El Niño?
this Sunday at Holiday
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Take a look at past
Septembers in Canyon
BY SHARON RICE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
Most longtime residents would agree that September weather in Canyon Lake is quite interesting. Historically, it’s the hottest month of the year; but it also sees some of the most dramatic and damag- ing storms.
A number of trees in the community toppled during the brief but powerful storm that swept through a week ago Wednesday. But a look back at other Septembers over the years, including last year, reveals that powerful Septem- ber storms aren’t that unusual.
What is interesting and confusing to many this year is the fact that messages about the drought and the importance of conserving water continue to bombard the public; while at the same time, Cali- fornians are being urged to prepare for what is predicted to be a very wet winter. (Surprisingly, the two rain events that took place between September 9 and 15 delivered less than an inch of rain, according to Weatherman Pat Elliano. Wind gusts measured 58 mph.)
A recent LA Times article noted, “The strengthening El Niño has the potential to become one of the most powerful on record, setting up a pattern that could bring once-in-a-generation storms this winter to drought-parched California.”
However, officials warn against imag- ining that El Niño will suddenly end the state’s chronic water challenges. In fact, Kevin Werner, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s expert on climate in the western United States, says it would take an astonishing two and a half to three times the average annual precipitation to make up for the rain and snow lost in the central Sierra mountain range over just the last four years.
With these predictions in mind, many Canyon Lakers are doing what they can to prepare. Some are taking action on the drought by replacing lawns and water- thirsty plants with drought-tolerant land- scape, hardscape and artificial turf. Some are taking action on the predicted El Niño by making repairs to roofs, cleaning out
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Some residents might have thought that tree removal had begun for the Main Gate redesign project when crews began cutting down one of the large pine trees in the median last week. The tree was another casualty of the September 9 storm. The As- sociation says the wind uprooted it and it was leaning toward traffic, so they decided to have it cut down for safety reasons.
PHOTO BY DONNA KUPKE PHOTO BY BOB IRELAND