Thursday July 11, 2024
Monterey Herald —
The County of Monterey Parks closed Lake San Antonio in southern Monterey County “out of an abundance of caution for public health” due to the recent large-scale die off of fish at the freshwater recreation area.
“Effective immediately, no new guests or lake users are being admitted,” according to a directive from Monterey County Parks. “Once a cause is determined, we will share that information with the public and when the lake can be reopened. The next task is to clean up and dispose of the dead fish. There is no estimate at this point on when clean up could be complete or reopening could occur.”
Chief of Parks Bryan Flores said he received a report from his staff on July 5, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was immediately notified. CDFW thought it was probably due to the extreme heat and less oxygen in the water, or maybe some algae.
“But the week before the algae levels were normal for this time of year,” said Flores who added that at this time, the cause of the mass die-off remains a mystery.