Despite the clear skies and warm temperatures, expect rapid rises on the Trinity River over coming days, creating potential danger to boaters and those fishing.
The US Bureau of Reclamation will be sharply increasing the volume of water shooting down the Trinity River starting Saturday. The extreme flows are meant to mimic natural spring floods that occurred before construction of the Trinity, Lewiston and Whiskeytown dams were constructed in the 1960s.
The rush of water is meant to help young salmon get out to sea. Officials are under a legally required mandate to restore wild salmon populations along the river. Releases from Trinity dam will rise from 300 cubic feet per second (CF/S) Friday to 750 CF/S Saturday. Water levels will continue rising before peaking on the 28th and 29th at 11,000 CF/S.