A three-alarm grass fire Monday night on the American River Parkway near Cal Expo burned about 11 acres.
The fire that reached the treetops was driven by a strong wind, which spread embers that ignited small spot fires.
Crews mopped up on Tuesday and were to cut down some charred trees. No structures were damaged, and there were no injuries
In response to concerns from Sacramento water agencies, the Bureau of Reclamation is easing back drainage rates on Folsom Lake.
The State Water Resources Control Board is set to approve the updated plans, which aim to ease concerns from residents of Folsom, Roseville and other cities that depend on Folsom Lake for their water supply.
“Mindful of that critical water supply need we are intending to put in the specific end of September of quantity of 120,000 acre-feet of water,” said Deputy Director Les Grober.
Grober says fears about the water level came up when regulators tried to strike a balance between protecting fish and minimizing harm to agriculture.
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State officials announced some fish hatcheries in California are being evacuated due to the drought.
Water temperatures at the American River hatchery were approaching dangerous levels for the rainbow trout, putting their lives in danger. So, for the second year in a row, they will have to be evacuated.
“We’re going to move about 330,000 steelhead and probably 500,000 trout,” said Jay Rowan.
But a smaller number will be able to stay, thanks to a high-tech indoor facility built with $700,000 in emergency drought funds. It uses purified water chilled by large cooling units.
“These fish will stay in this building for the next eight to nine months where they’ll grow out and then they will be taken out and planted on the east side of the Sierra,” Rowan said.
The hatchery problems will create some short-term benefits for the recreational fishing industry already hit hard by four years of drought.
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Sacramento-area water officials warned Wednesday that Folsom Lake could be 96 percent empty by next January under a federal plan to increase water releases.
t’s just bad. It’s just bad,” said Tom Gohring, executive director of the Sacramento Region Water Forum, a coalition of water agencies.
Gohring spoke at a meeting of the State Water Resources Board about a proposal by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Reclamation officials have said they plan to begin releasing more fresh water from Folsom Lake and Lake Oroville in order to push back the saltwater that infiltrates the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta during drought conditions.
“We are having to make a lot of difficult decisions,” said Erin Curtis, a Reclamation spokeswoman. “And releasing extra water from Folsom right now is one of those.”
A historically low snowpack has already left Folsom and several other California reservoirs at below-average levels.
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The time for slip renters to pull their boats out of the water at Folsom Lake has come earlier than usual, due to the drought.
As of Sunday, the water level was at 413 feet, one foot away from the lowest point at which boats are permitted in the slips. After that level, it becomes dangerous to try to pull boats out.
Over the weekend, Jason Rutherford set out to enjoy the clear sky weather out on the water with his family for the last time this summer.
“We’re going to go out and come in this evening and pull it out this evening and wrap it up for the season in Folsom Lake,” Rutherford said.
And they were just getting started.
The Rutherfords got to use their slip for just one week before they had to take their boat back home.
“We’re two minutes from the lake so it’s great to come out on the evenings when you get off work,” Rutherford said. “It’s a bummer but we have a water issue. What are you going to do?”
On Sunday, the wind was perfect for sailing which made for a good father’s day for the Benjamins.
“It’s my husband’s special day and sailing is his passion,” Laura Benjamin said.
Even when they can’t use their slip they will continue to bring their boat to Folsom Lake, it just won’t be as convenient.
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In this heat, everyone could use a nice cold swim to cool off, animals included.
An El Dorado Hills man was on Folsom Lake Saturday morning when he spotted an animal swimming in the water.
It wasn’t a dog. Or a coyote. Or a pig for that matter. Swimming casually in the cold lake water was a bear!
Tony Mygatt said he was sitting in his boat in a little cove and reading his book when he saw something swimming toward him. He grabbed his phone, snapped a photo and then began to film the bear.
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A water regulator is warning Roseville and Folsom could run out of water in just a few months if officials continue to allow water releases from Folsom Lake.
Andrew Fecko with the Placer County Water Agency is concerned and frustrated after learning the Bureau of Reclamation has increased releases from Folsom Lake. He warns those increased releases won’t just expose ruins where water should be.
“If this lake behind me goes below 100,000 acre feet, in the September time frame, that’s a you-can’t-turn-on-your-tap moment, and that’s something we haven’t faced here before,” he said.
He says about half a million citizens use water from Folsom Lake, including the cities of Folsom and Roseville, as well as the San Juan Water District.
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As the weather warms, many look to plan fun outdoor activities, but increased time outside also increases the risk for encounters with ticks, which can be carriers of Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, known as deer ticks, frequently encountered in tall grasses and wooded areas.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 300,000 infections occur each year, of which only 30,000 are reported to CDC by state health departments.
Lyme is a bacterial illness that is spread by tick bites. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, officials said.
There are several tactics that can prevent tick bites and reduce the risk of tick borne disease, according to the CDC.
More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>
Nerodia Watch enlists citizen scientists to report sightings of Nerodia watersnakes in California. Nerodia threaten California’s native fish and wildlife species through predation and competition for resources. Their fast rate of population growth, ability to disperse overland to new habitat, and close proximity to special status species causes great concern for California’s native fish and wildlife species. This campaign is intended to monitor for the spread of existing populations, prevent the establishment of new populations, and facilitate rapid response management efforts to control or eradicate Nerodia watersnakes in California.
Currently, N. sipedon is established in Roseville (Placer County) and N. fasciata pictiventris is established in Folsom (Sacramento County) and Machado Lake (Los Angeles County). Areas that should be targeted for surveying include most types of permanent freshwater habitats, such as ponds, wetlands, canals, and slow-moving streams and rivers. Specific locations of interest include in and around Roseville, Folsom, the lower American River, the Sacramento River watershed west/southwest of Sacramento, Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Little Potato Slough, French Camp, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and Los Angeles County.
For more information on Nerodia watersnakes in California, visit CDFW Invasive Species Program – Species profiles, The California Nerodia website, the Stop the Spread of Non-Native Water Snakes in California Facebook group, and CaliforniaHerps.com.
In 2008, all Nerodia watersnake species were added to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s list of restricted live animals, making it illegal to possess, transport, or import them into the state without a restricted species permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
At its June 4 meeting, the Placer County Water Agency Board of Directors expressed grave concern over the projected drop in water levels at Folsom Lake.
Reacting to an order last week by the State Water Resource Control Board to conserve cold water supplies in the Shasta Reservoir system, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is releasing water from Folsom Reservoir at a rate that could drop lake levels within a few feet of the water supply outlet that serves the City of Roseville, City of Folsom, and San Juan Water District.
“If the current plan remains unchanged and we experience a dry fall, we could see half a million people in the region without water,” PCWA General Manager, Einar Maisch said. “This could, in effect, destroy the entire region’s economy.”
By holding cold water supplies at Shasta Reservoir now, it is expected cold water will be available for winter run Salmon in the Sacramento River. Releases at Folsom Lake increased from 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 2,000 cfs (approximately 4,000 acre-feet per day). Under current modeling, Folsom Lake levels could drop to approximately 118,000 acre-feet by the end of September. By comparison, in January 2014 Folsom reached its recent record low of 162,000 acre-feet, just before near record high February rains. 118,000 acre-feet would be 16 feet lower than the level reached in January 2014.
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