By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee

In the foothills of Placer County, people are keeping their fingers crossed that freezing conditions don’t harm the coveted satsuma mandarins.

“Say a little prayer,” said Josh Huntsinger, Placer County deputy agricultural commissioner.

Temperatures were hovering around freezing Wednesday in mountain mandarin territory from Auburn to Lincoln.

The cool nights and warm days of places like Loomis and Newcastle make the fruit sweet, but sometimes very cold overnights can turn the orange fruit tasteless and dry.

With much of the crop still on the tree, there is concern that the cold temperatures will linger for too many hours.

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