Hundreds of fish found onshore in Big Bear due to drought

BIG BEAR, Calif. (KABC) -- Officials in Big Bear are responding to concerns over hundreds of dead fish that are washing up on shore near the lake.

The photos were sent to Eyewitness News by Big Bear resident Colleen LeBeau. She said she has never seen anything like that in her 30 years of living in the area.

The dead fish are popping up at Stansfield Marsh, east of the lake, and it is apparently due to the drought. Water in the area has been receding over the years and the carps do not move toward the deeper parts of the lake. When the water recedes enough, the fish end up dying.

Crews have been working for the last two weeks to save as many of the fish as they can by catching them in nets and moving them into the deeper parts of the marsh. The dead schools of fish are not floating at Big Bear Lake, according to Dan McKernan, director of public relations and marketing for Big Bear.