Officials Worried About Fish Kill on Boise River

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho wildlife officials say they're concerned a drop in Boise River flows due to a power plant's failed alert system could have killed young rainbow and brown trout. Idaho Fish and Game biologist Joe Kozfkay tells Boise State Public Radio that the reduced flow likely left eggs and hatchlings on dry ground. He also says insect populations might have been harmed. Authorities say the river dropped from 290 cubic feet per second to 81 cubic feet per second over a few hours starting at about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Barber Dam is about 3 miles east of Boise and owned by Enel Green Power. Regional operations manager Larry James says it's not clear what caused the shut down, and that an alert system also failed. Flows began returning to normal Wednesday after 6 a.m.