Leavenworth, Wash.—Entiat National Fish Hatchery fought to keep fish alive Sunday December 18 when ice flowing down Entiat River jammed the intake and pipes. The crew spent a grueling 5 1/2 hours fighting the flow and saving the 460,000 fish in the raceways, which were without flow for quite some time. 

Hatchery Manager Craig Chisam described the emergency: “Our intake rack, vault, and 1,000 foot delivery line, along with the 800 foot by-pass line (where the ice has to go), were completely clogged with ice.  After a couple hours, we restored enough flow to the raceways to allow us to reconfigure to a re-use scenario and keep fish alive.  As we continued to fight the remaining ice clogs in our lines, the 36-inch main intake line suddenly freed up, sending massive amounts of ice and water to the screen chamber and instantly filling the building with ice with about a foot of water pouring out of the building and down our roads. 

“At the same time, the massive amount of water that came with the ice overflowed our sand-settling basin and sent its water down our roads as well.  As a result, the 800-foot bypass line became clogged with ice again.  We were forced to turn off our surface water delivery line, which left the raceways with no flow as we dealt with the problem.  Much time was spent melting the ice with warm groundwater and freeing up the clogged line in order to restore adequate flow to the raceways.”

Craig describes his crew as “sore, beaten, and battered but thankfully safe in the end.” The problem may have started with an ice dam in Entiat River collapsing, sending massive amounts of ice and debris downstream. Entiat resident John Craven, whose home is close to the hatchery, captured footage of an ice flood on Friday December 16.  His video is posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmFY_QvtmD4

More From NewsRadio 560 KPQ