Photos: A close shave with Terra Bella drought

Terra Bella, where residents have no access to groundwater or aqueduct water.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Fred Lujan, 68, was dreaming of a retirement as a gentleman farmer tending his pistachio trees.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The drought left farmer Fred Lujan, 68, with no water to irrigate his pistachio trees.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The drought is severely affecting the small Central Valley town of Terra Bella. Many of the town’s stores have shut down.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Fred Lujan calls farming “the most amazing thing you can do.”  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Terra Bella residents shop at an outdoor flea market where vendors sell their used wares. Most of the town’s commercial corridor is shuttered.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Ethan Giannetto, Fred Lujan’s grandson, plays outside of his family’s home in Terra Bella.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Pastor Rafael Rivera delivers a sermon to a nearly empty church in Terra Bella. He has seen his flock thin out as residents move out of the area.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

“How am I supposed to just sit here and watch everything turn brown and die?” asks pistachio farmer Fred Lujan.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

The drought could be the final blow for the town of Terra Bella.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Migrant workers are clearing out of many towns throughout the Central Valley, including Terra Bella.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Children play in the streets of the east San Joaquin Valley town of Terra Bella, which is suffering under the severe drought.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Many families that have lived in Terra Bella for decades are questioning whether they can withstand the economic blow that the drought is inflicting on the town.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

A street in the town of Terra Bella, hard hit by drought.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Fred Lujan gets a visit from his grandson Ethan Giannetto, 4, who lives next door.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)