Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 13, 2009
3. Watersheds –
Trinity County fire now 40 percent contained; still 1,200 acres
Redding Record Searchlight
Lockheed Fire at 1,000 acres; evacuations ordered, 250 structures threatened
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Monterey Aquarium overwhelmed by jellyfish swarm
Monterey County Herald
Salmon count worries linger
Red Bluff Daily News
Stimulus funds bring Caspian tern project to Siskiyou County
Siskiyou Daily News
Lake Tahoe officials: Invasive inspections are adequate
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
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Trinity County fire now 40 percent contained; still 1,200 acres
Redding Record Searchlight-8/13/09
By Ryan Sabalow, Amanda Winters
Fire crews Wednesday confronted a wildland fire in the Lewiston area that erupted in just a few minutes from a small spot to a rapidly spreading blaze that eventually charred at least 1,200 acres.
By 7 a.m. today, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that the fire was 40 percent contained, a 10 percent jump in containment from the night before.
Firefighters were able to keep the fire at 1,200 acres during the night.
Pushed by gusting winds, the flames threatened at least 25 homes in the Trinity County mountain valley community of 1,300 people west of Redding.
Many mandatory evacuation orders were lifted as of 8 p.m. Wednesday, said Trinity County Sheriff Lorrac Craig.
At one point, the fire was moving so quickly that the county's telephone emergency notification system was unable to keep up, said Lynn Ward, a Trinity County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
Craig said no homes had burned as of 8 p.m., though at least 25 structures had been threatened.
Flames licked perilously close to one home, but aggressive fire retardant drops saved the structure, Craig said.
"It was a white house," Craig said. "I don't know if it's white anymore."
Though evacuations had been ordered for residents living north of Highway 299 on roads including Lewiston, Trinity Dam, Coffin, Oak, Wellock, Fawn Lodge, Oak Ridge, Lockhart Ranch and Dead Mule, the only mandatory evacuations still in effect as of 8 p.m. were in the Fawn Lodge area, Craig said.
Residents there were being ordered to stay away as firefighters were planning a back burn in the Fawn Lodge area around midnight, Craig said.
Earlier in the evening, Peggy Wellock, who lives on the road that shares her last name, was told she might soon have to evacuate.
"If we have to, I'll put my cattle in the river," Wellock said as she stood with several neighbors next to a sheriff's patrol car listening to its scanner.
An evacuation center had been set up at Weaverville Elementary School on Highway 3 in Weaverville.
The fire at one point was burning on the ridge above Lewiston Elementary School. Several spot fires spread down the hillside throughout the early evening, crawling closer to the town.
The fire, originally dispatched near Old Lewiston and Coffin roads, was first reported at 2:27 p.m. Because of its location, it was dubbed the Coffin Fire.
As of this morning, there were 658 firefighters fighting the fire, 52 fire engines, 17 bulldozers and 25 hand crews, according to Cal Fire officials. Four air tankers, three helicopters and six water tenders also were assigned to the blaze. The cost to date was estimated at more than $513,000.
At another point Wednesday evening, pilots attacking the blaze from the air reported being worried about flying near high-voltage power lines, and they requested the power company cut the voltage.
Commanders on the ground reported back that doing so would shut down power for most of California's north coast. The power was not shut down.
The smoke plume from the fire was clearly visible above the hills west of Redding. Ash from the fire could be seen falling at the Central Valley High School football practice in Shasta Lake.
Trinity Dam Boulevard was closed Wednesday night from Highway 299 to the Plug and Jug store, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said.
The fire had burned all the way to Trinity Dam Boulevard, and spot fires were springing up nearby, said John Bruno, a Cal Fire spokesman.
Lewiston Road between Highway 299 and Trinity Dam Boulevard was temporarily closed because of the fire, said Sgt. Pete Baraga of the Trinity County Sheriff's Department.
Soon after the blaze started, Tony Miller, 35, a partner at the One Maple Winery at 4271 Lewiston Road, said he and his wife, Heidi, watched from their back porch as the fire spread. Miller said the flames came dangerously close his neighbors' homes.
"There's fire all the way around them," Miller said. "It's probably right on them."
He said the blaze appeared to have started at the end of Coffin Road, near the Lowden Ranch and the sediment ponds, a local landmark.
Part of the fire was burning along the southern edge of the 1999 Lowden Fire, said Gary Mixon, the 53-year-old owner of the Plug and Jug at 4591 Trinity Dam Blvd.
Mixon said Wednesday that he could see flames on the ridge above his store. He said the fire was eerily similar to the Lowden Fire, even moving in the same direction as that blaze, which burned for a week, torching 2,000 acres and burning 23 homes.
After the 1999 fire, nearly 250 families filed claims against the Bureau of Land Management, which eventually paid more than $6.1 million to compensate for property lost when a firefighter-set controlled burn escaped containment.
Firefighters were expected to face similar gusty conditions today.
Weather forecasts indicate that though winds would die off Wednesday night, they'll kick back up today with westerly gusts blowing up to 20 mph in Trinity County and western Shasta County.#
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/13/trinity-county-fire-explodes-into-1200-acre/?print=1
Lockheed Fire at 1,000 acres; evacuations ordered, 250 structures threatened
Santa Cruz Sentinel-8/12/09
Flames leaped into the night sky above the ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains on Wednesday as a wildland fire burned out of control in the rugged hills between the end of Empire Grade Road and Swanton.
The Lockheed Fire burned in heavily wooded terrain as winds howled through the canyons, whipping the fire through the dry vegetation under the cool night air. At 1 a.m., Cal Fire said the out-of-control fire had consumed 1,900 acres and was growing, but at 3 a.m. they said the earlier number was wrong and put the size back at 1,000 acres.
At least four strike teams were called in; the last was sent to Big Creek Lumber for structure protection.
Minutes earlier, mandatory evacuations were ordered for the entire Swanton area of about 600 residents, and 250 structures were threatened.
At 10:15 p.m., evacuation orders were sent via reverse emergency calls to residents on Swanton Road, Swanton View Road, Mill Creek Road, Last Chance Road, Warnella Truck Trail, Rancho Del Oso and Penstock.
An evacuation area was set up at Pacific Elementary School in Davenport, according to reports. A shelter will be opened at 2 a.m. at Vintage Faith Church, 350 Mission St., Santa Cruz.
Firefighters said around 10 p.m. that they believe the fire was burning in the area between the Lehi Camp off Empire Grade Road toward Last Chance Road. The fire was first reported about 7:15 p.m. near Empire Grade and Bertoli Drive. Wind speeds were in single digits but gusting to 19 mph.
Cal Fire crews are using the nearby Lockheed Martin Space Systems campus as one command center as they strategize how to reach the fire. Before nightfall, a lone helicopter dropped water on the fire. Aircraft were called off as darkness hit. At least two dozen fire trucks and construction equipment was staging at the parking lot of the Lockheed Martin facility.
At 10 p.m. a strike team, made up of five engines, was called to the Waddell Creek area near Swanton Road. That call came two hours after Cal Fire sent out a "mutual aid immediate need" request to fight the fire.
Looking out over the ridge from the Lockheed campus, plumes of orange and red flames jumped off the top of the mountain.
A stream of fire trucks and dozers were making their way up Empire Grade Road around 10 p.m. to stage at Lockheed. The fire is not near the facility but on a ridge toward the coast. Lockheed Martin is 3,700 acres with defensible space around it. Lockheed safety official Fred Rust was not sure if the facility was in the direct path of the fire.
"They are still trying to access it themselves," Rust said. "We've been asked to grant access and that's all we've done."
At 10:15 p.m., fire crews had reached the southern edge of the fire and were attacking the flanks of the blaze. They reached the fire on dirt roads from the Lehi camp, which houses permanent staff.
There were at least 25 fire crews called to the scene, about 10 crews of which are at the fire. Many of the others were sent to Big Creek Fire Station on Swanton Road.
Firefighters on the scene said conditions are dry so it is ripe for the fire to grow. Emergency dispatchers said the fire is being fueled by winds pushing the fire through the canyon to Last Chance Road, a small dirt road dotted with homes. Prisoners from the Ben Lomond Conservation Camp hiked into an area of the fire and were fighting it by hand.
On Empire Grade Road, residents and others were preparing for the blaze. A guard at the Lockheed facility said she has been ordered to let all fire crews inside the gates and to expect them in all night.
Zinnia Hinde and her husband Robert Hinde, who live on the 1000 block of Bertoli Drive, were preparing to leave their house just before 9 p.m.
"It's dark and I can't see" the fire, Zinnia said. "My husband is turning the cars around so we can be gone from here soon."
Hinde said her son Aaron, his wife and children live just above them and are also preparing to evacuate.
"OK Lord, what do I do?" she said just before hanging up the phone.
Lehi Park, a camp run by the Mormon Church, is located just below the Lockheed Martin facility. No one answered at the camp. The Bosch Baha'i Camp is also near the area. Fire officials do not believe anyone is at either camp.
The Lehi Park is at 16000 Empire Grade Road. The camp, situated on 100 acres, hosts events like a girls' camp, father and daughter overnights, marriage seminars and young adult retreats.
Around 1 a.m. Thursday 15 fire engines from various Santa Clara County fire departments gathered at The Summit Roadhouse Restaurant on Highway 17 to await instructions.
"We are part of the state's mutual aid system," said Kendall Pearson, battalion chief for Santa Clara County Fire. "There are 15 engines and three independent vehicles from every fire agency in Santa Clara County."
After a briefing from Pearson, the firefighters were to caravan to Scotts Valley Station 1 before heading to the battle ground. Pearson warned the firefighters about the narrow roads with hard to see street signs. He also encouraged them be safe, keep an eye for each other and to try to save homes that had a fighting chance.
"If it doesn't have a defensible space with a wood shingle roof, pass it up," he said. "Do what you can do and don't do what you can't."
Many of the firefighters had begun their shift at 8 a.m. Wednesday and had not had any sleep before being called to duty in Santa Cruz County, Pearson said. The crews work 24-hour shifts, as as of 1:30 a.m., he did not know how long their services were going to be needed.
Pearson and the others came to Santa Cruz County's rescue last year, as it battled three different fires, the Summit, Trabing and Martin, he said.
"This, and the fires last year, is unusual for Santa Cruz County," he said. "It's just so dry. The fires are indicative of the dryness Santa Cruz County has been experiencing."#
Monterey Aquarium overwhelmed by jellyfish swarm
Monterey County Herald-8/12/09
By Daniel Lopez
A swarm of jellyfish are causing plumbing problems at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Hundreds of thousands of Chrysaora jellyfish feeding in the bay waters Monday damaged a filter screen on the aquarium's water intakes, said Eric Quamen the aquarium's facilities systems supervisor.
"From an operations standpoint, it's a big deal. From the aquarium standpoint, it's a minor inconvenience," Quamen said. "The public would never notice."
A four-person dive team spent part of Tuesday repairing the damaged screen on the end of the quarter-mile-long intake system, he said.
The pipes pump about 2,000 gallons of water per minute from the bay into the aquarium for the exhibit tanks. Quamen said the screens on the ends of the pipes are designed to act as filters, but there has been a recent explosion in the number of jellyfish in the bay and the creatures are sometimes drawn to the screens.
When the jellyfish, some of which are up to four feet long, get caught in the system's current, the mass can crush or otherwise damage the screens, Quamen said.
Some jellyfish have been ground up in the water pumps after being pulled through the screen. Workers must use nets to remove the remains that wash into the discharge pool, Quamen said.
"We have had this happen before, although it is rare," he said.
The jellyfish forced the aquarium to cancel its Ocean Explorers program Tuesday for fear that children participating could be stung, said aquarium spokeswoman Karen
Jeffries.
"It's like a bee sting and everyone reacts to it differently," she said.
Jeffries said the large bloom of jellyfish in Monterey Bay could be a result of ideal feeding conditions. Jellyfish enjoy high nitrate levels which can be naturally occurring or be caused by agricultural water runoff.
Quamen said replacing damaged screens costs a few hundred dollars and the problem should be resolved when the jellyfish migrate out of the bay.
Until then, "we are going to be dealing with this for a while," he said.#
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_13045821?source=rss
Salmon count worries linger
Red Bluff Daily News-8/12/09
By Geoff Johnson
The counting of fall run chinook salmon will not begin until late September, but concerns are already floating among Tehama County Fish and Game Commissioners that salmon fishing in the Sacramento River may be prohibited for the fourth year in a row.
Fishing seasons are determined a year in advance by estimating the number of two-year-old salmon, or jacks, because 3-year-old fish make up the bulk of the salmon run.
Because of those estimates, fishing during the fall chinook run has been banned since 2007.
In 2007 and 2008, there were 93,224 and 71,803 fish counted, compared to 280,152 in 2006, according to DFG.
With winter run chinook on the endangered species list and spring run chinook on the threatened species list, only the late-fall run chinook are open to fishing.
As the DFG moves to estimate the salmon count through tagging, marking dead fish and pooling information between fish hatcheries and tributaries, it expects to find less than 122,000 in the 2009 fall run, said Randy Benthin, a senior fishery biologist for the DFG.
Of those, as few as 5 percent may be jacks, which help the department forecast the 2010 fall run and determine whether fishing will be allowed.
Fish counts may pick up when the Red Bluff Diversion Dam's system of diverting water is replaced by a water pumping station, but abrupt drops in salmon populations can also come from changes in water temperature.
Because of a drought in the late 70s, during which water was distributed without regard to the fish, winter run chinook salmon passing through the diversion dam dropped from 24,735 in 1977-78 to 2,339 the next year, Benthin said.
They went ahead and gave full (water) deliveries to all their customers, and so the river really heated up when the eggs were in the gravel, and that killed off most of them, he said.
The species has remained on the endangered species list since.
County Fish and Game Commissioner Scott Ferris said no one thing can account for struggling native salmon populations, but a broken food chain and an increased demand for water are at least in part responsible.
Because California's population is growing even in the third year of drought, some biologists fear a full comeback may be impossible, Ferris said.
The dwindling fish population marks a sharp change from 1951, when Ferris moved to the north state. Back then, he would catch salmon 12 months a year.
I thought I'd never see the day you couldn't catch a salmon, Ferris said.#
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/rds_home/ci_13043906?
Stimulus funds bring Caspian tern project to Siskiyou County
Siskiyou Daily News-8/12/09
By David Smith
A federal stimulus package-funded project is underway in northeastern Siskiyou County, one piece of a larger project aimed at balancing the needs of the world's largest Caspian tern colony with those of a struggling salmon population in the Columbia River, which is shared by the states of Oregon and Washington.
The portion of the project taking place in Siskiyou County involves the construction of two rock islands, one in a section of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and another in the Orems unit of Lower Klamath Lake, according to Amy Echols of the Public Affairs office of the Portland District United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The project also includes the construction and placement of a floating island on Sheepy Lake, which is located near Dorris along route 161.
The entire project goes back to the late 1990s, when the USACE reported that an estimated colony of 10,000 nesting pairs of Caspian terns on Rice Island in the Columbia River were consuming approximately 6 million to 25 million salmonid smolts per year, according to a 1999 USACE report.
The report stated that the plan originally involved encouraging the tern population to spread out to East Sand Island, which is located closer to the river's estuary.
Cormorants on East Sand Island had showed a marked decrease in salmonid consumption compared to their counterparts on Rice Island, and researchers believed that the increase in food source diversity would mean fewer salmonids consumed if the tern population was shifted toward the estuary.
The project involved making areas of Rice Island less attractive for nesting while creating nesting areas on East Sand Island, according to the report. This was accomplished by creating sandy, vegetation-free areas preferred by terns on East Sand Island and vegetating areas on Rice Island. Fencing was also erected on Rice Island to further deter nesting there.
Ultimately, according to Echols, the plan would lead to the creation of other tern-friendly habitat across the birds' natural migration routes in the western United States in an effort to draw down the total tern population feeding on salmonids in the Columbia River, shifting the population away from both the East Sand and Rice islands.
Echols said that initially the Klamath was not included in the project's scope, which includes three sites in Oregon and two in the San Francisco bay area.
Paul Schmidt, project manager for the Siskiyou County project and Environmental Resource Specialist with the USACE, said that a number of factors led to the inclusion of lakes in Siskiyou County.
Schmidt said that after the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement process in 2004, a regional evaluation had revealed that historically, the Klamath area and parts of Oregon and Nevada had supported Caspian tern populations. He added that the Siskiyou locations were chosen for sufficient water and fishery resources, as well as management practices for the lakes, specifically with regard to control of lake levels.
Echols said that the plan for East Sand Island will mirror that for Rice Island, which, after successful seeding and fencing, was reduced to one acre of suitable tern habitat, thus reducing the number of breeding pairs utilizing the island. Schmidt said that for every two acres of nesting area created elsewhere, one acre will be reduced on East Sand Island.
Asked how the islands are built, Echols said that during water drawdown periods, construction crews build a road to the point where the rock island will be set up.
Once the road is set up, Echols said, rocks of decreasing size are brought in and layered large to small to create an island, eventually covered with the final layer, made up of rock resembling "pea" gravel, which is coarser than sand but smaller than rocks.
The floating island, on the other hand, is made up of a set of interlocking pieces made from recycled plastic bottles. The pieces are assembled onshore, covered with the sand-like rock and then sent out on to the water, where the island will be tethered to a set spot on the lake, Echols said.
In order to attract the terns to the islands, tern decoys are placed about the surface and mating calls are played using speakers set up at various places on the island, according to Echols. She said that a study blind is set up on or near the island in order to allow researchers to monitor the number of nesting pairs, hatchlings and other related data.
For the construction of the rock islands, the USACE has contracted with Washington-based LKE Corporation and the floating island will be constructed by Floating Islands West, according to Echols.
Asked why no local contractors were used, Schmidt said that with the rock islands, there were no contractors in the area who met the requirements of the government contract guidelines, namely, a qualified contractor meeting the Small Business Act (SBA) section 8A guidelines. Section 8A of the SBA requires certain contracts to target businesses at least 51 percent owned by "a socially and economically disadvantaged citizen of the U.S. or an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe."
Echols said that the floating island will be constructed by Floating Islands West because of that company's specialty in that area.
Echols said that the stimulus funds will still be directly applied to the area in other ways. She said that LKE hired four local equipment operators and a fifth employee with specialized road grading skills. She added that the stone being used for the two rock islands is being hauled by various Klamath Falls companies.
Echols also stated that through LKE the stimulus funds are injecting capital into Tulelake, through rental of motel and trailer park space, the purchase of diesel fuel, everyday purchases and also by attending a local charity barbecue.
Another question asked of Schmidt and Echols in a Monday interview was whether or not there is any concern that increasing predation by increasing tern numbers would create a problem in the Tulelake ecosystem.
Schmidt said that there is no concern because the locations have a "significant fishery resource." He added, "We are not creating a new market for concerns."
In response to a question of whether or not other birds might present an obstacle to terns utilizing the islands, Schmidt said that the islands are set up to attract terns, so it is believed that they will be able to establish nesting on the islands before other species. Both Echols and Schmidt said that other birds may use the islands periodically, but the intended result, tern nesting, has been accomplished on the other projects completed thus far in Oregon.
Schmidt was also asked at what point it would be possible to determine whether or not the whole project will have had an appreciable effect on the salmon numbers in the Columbia River. He estimated that it will be four to five years before the whole scenario will play out, with two to three years to establish the new islands and just as long for the tern population to shift and adapt, spreading across the west.
All three projects, which are a joint venture between the San Francisco District of the USACE and the Fish and Wildlife Service, are funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act contract. Echols reported that the Tulelake reserve rock island's cost is approximately $1.1 million, the Orems unit rock island's cost is approximately $650,000 and the Sheepy Lake floating island's cost is approximately $2.3 million.
Construction of both rock islands is underway, with the floating island construction expected to begin in October.#
Lake Tahoe officials: Invasive inspections are adequate
New mussel survival study already integrated into practices
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza-8/12/09
By Annie Flanzraich
With a recent study showing quagga mussels could survive and possibly reproduce in Lake Tahoe, environmental officials said they are confident current inspection procedures are adequate to keep out the invasive mollusks.
"We've been working very closely with researchers before they were able to put out a final draft so we were aware of what was going on," said Ted Thayer, natural resource and science team leader for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. "What we are doing right now is sufficient in light of this new research."
The study released by scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of California, Davis earlier this week suggests the low calcium levels in Tahoe's water may not provide sufficient protection against the mussels as once believed.
"It appears that for adults, that's not the case. They are able to survive," chief UNR researcher Sudeep Chandra said. "The hypothesis we were testing is there would be no survival. I was quite surprised."
Scientists monitored eight mussels in tanks of Tahoe water during 51 days to study survival rates. Chandra said all but one survived — a rate of 87 percent. Forty-three percent of the mollusks showed the potential for reproduction.
Scientists say the study did not examine the survivability of mussels in their larval stage. Chandra and co-researcher Marion Wittmann, an aquatic ecologist for the UC-Davis' Tahoe Environmental Research Center, say it's still possible that Tahoe's calcium levels could not support juvenile mussels.
"It's going to take a little more research to determine if this mussel can really sustain in populations over time," Wittmann said.
If established at Tahoe, quagga mussels or their cousin, zebra mussels, could cause profound changes to the alpine lake's sensitive ecosystem. The mussels could clog water intakes, cover boats and piers, and litter pristine beaches with sharp and reeking shells.
A recent study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates a mussel invasion could cost Tahoe's tourism economy more than $22 million per year.
Since 2007 the TRPA and Tahoe Resource Conservation District have made boat inspections at public and private launches mandatory lake-wide.
"When we wrote our procedures and protocol we weren't waiting for this info," said Nicole Cartwright, head of the TRCD Invasive Species Program. "Every action we take is with the knowledge that they could survive in Tahoe."#
http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20090812/NEWS/908129987/1061&ParentProfile=1050
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