Tag: Butte Creek

After canal failure, Butte Creek Canyon residents ask for accountability

Canyon residents want long-term plan for salmon survival
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 30, 2023

photo by Karen Laslo
Mechoopda Indian Tribe Environmental Director He-Lo Ramirez said a “primary goal” is the restoration of wild salmon on Butte Creek.

How to hold Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. accountable was a top concern at an Aug. 24 community meeting in Butte Creek Canyon following the canal failure that created a landslide earlier this month.

Butte Creek Canyon residents, still worried about the welfare of this year’s relatively small spring run of wild Chinook salmon, also want to know how future accidents can be prevented and whether steps to conserve the fragile ecosystem will be taken. The canal failure washed out a hillside, for a short time damming the creek and for a couple of days turning it sludgy orange. read more

PG&E canal failure under investigation

Were state officials notified in a timely manner?
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 16, 2023

This photo was taken by an observer of the devastation caused by the canal breach.

The failure of the PG&E-operated Butte Canal that caused a landslide into Butte Creek last week, turning the water a sludgy-orange, is under investigation by the law enforcement arm of the state’s Department of Fish & Wildlife.

“We’re very aware of the situation there,” said Peter Tira, an information officer for the department. “Butte Creek has the largest spring run of wild Chinook salmon in California, and that’s the reason we monitor it so closely.” read more

PG&E canal failure a threat to salmon, wildlife

Harthorn: "This event is an underwater Camp Fire"
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 12, 2023

photo courtesy of Friends of Butte Creek

This story was updated at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12 with an additional response from Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. (PG&E).

The breach in PG&E-operated Butte Canal that has turned Butte Creek into orange sludge will turn out to be the death knell for many salmon and some members of other species, says fisheries expert Allen Harthorn.

Harthorn, founder of the advocacy organization Friends of Butte Creek, warns the environmental disaster triggered by the Aug. 10 breach is a threat to what was the state’s best chance to save spring-run Chinook salmon. Butte Creek, a 93-mile tributary of the Sacramento River, is considered critical to the spring run’s survival. read more