Park staff remove hundreds of dead fish from Riverview wetlands

Park workers in waders netted about 940 pounds of dead fish from a shrinking pond in the Riverview wetlands off Carson City's Fifth Street on Thursday.

The Carson River supplies the water for the wetlands, but is at low ebb due to drought conditions. The wetlands are drier than they've been since the park's creation in 1995, according to Carson City Parks Superintendent Scott Fahrenbruck.

Trapped in shallow water, most died due to lack of oxygen. The dead fish, mostly carp, were taken to the Carson City Landfill and the survivors, about 100, were relocated to the Carson River.

Drought conditions are extreme in northwest Nevada, northeastern California and southern Oregon and are expected to continue, according to a report from the National Drought Monitor in Lincoln, Neb.

Moving west, the wetness improves dramatically. Conditions in central California are considered abnormally dry, a mild condition, and precipitation is normal in San Francisco and points south.

The next chance of rain in the Reno-Carson-Douglas area will come Monday, according to Bob Melrose of the National Weather Service.

A trough of low pressure over the weekend will bring a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms south of U.S. 50 by Monday and a light southeasterly flow will expand those showers northward into Carson City and the Truckee Meadows on Tuesday and Wednesday. Drier, warmer weather will dominate the last half of next week.