More than 100 adult chinook were killed when a lightning bolt struck a holding pond at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game fish trap at Powell.
Last Friday’s strike killed about half of the fish in a female Chinook pond. Fish and Game says trap attendants checked the pond as a storm was building and found everything to be OK.
IDFG officials reported several lightning strikes, and when the trap was re-checked, 141 dead salmon were found scattered throughout the pond. Officials from the U.S. Forest Service confirmed satellite imaging showed at least three lightning strikes were detected near the fish pond.
The loss of the fish is not expected to affect production at the Ahsahka-based Clearwater Hatchery. Chinook trapped at Powell are trucked to the hatchery, where they are spawned.
