Thursday May 29, 2025
CDFW —
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that a sustained power outage has led to the widespread loss of fish at the Fish Springs Trout Hatchery.
The power outage, which was outside CDFW’s control, occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Owens Valley, and lasted more than two hours. Fish Springs Trout Hatchery, powered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has backup diesel motors which can supply continued water pumping during power outage events. During the power outage on Tuesday, the backup diesel motors were non-operational due to a software issue. A contractor had been previously scheduled to come to the hatchery on Thursday, May 22 to diagnose the software issue, assess the motors, and help CDFW resolve the problem.
“We’re devastated by the loss of these fish, which were the product of years of hard work and round-the-clock care by our expert hatchery staff.” said Russell Black, Inland Deserts Environmental Program Manager at CDFW. “As the backup diesel motors are being assessed and repaired, we are also working to secure eggs and fish from other CDFW hatcheries to rebuild some of these lost stocks. CDFW is dedicated to ensuring continued and successful fish planting in Inyo and Mono counties for the benefit of the Eastern Sierra.”