The severe overnight hail storm that destroyed roofs, stripped trees and shattered glass in parts of El Paso County on the morning of Wednesday, June 13, 2018, is also being blamed for killing a large number of fish in a popular pond at Fountain Creek Regional Park.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife assessed the fish kill at the park’s Duckwood Pond on Monday, June 18. It is estimated that hundreds of fish were killed, including eight different species of fish.
“The unique and damaging storm we had last week produced large hail and cold rain in a short period of time,” said El Paso County Parks Operations Division Manager Brian Bobeck. “The colder water temperatures mixing with warmer water can result in the pond turning over and depleting oxygen, resulting in fish kill.”
While hundreds of fish have been killed in Duckwood Pond, fish in the larger, deeper Willow Springs Ponds further north were not seriously affected by the storm.
El Paso County Parks and Colorado Parks and Wildlife will be available to answer questions about the effects of the storm on the fish at Duckwood Pond. County representatives can answer questions on the damage to County Parks, while Parks and Wildlife can speak to the science behind the incident.
Please contact Dave Rose at daverose@elpasoco.com or by phone at 719-520-6540 or Matt Steiner at 719-520-6403 or by email at mattsteiner@elpasoco.com for more information.