California mudslide damages homes, fishery

BISHOP, Calif., July 14 (UPI) -- Mud, water and debris swooshed down the Sierra Nevada foothills in California during the weekend, damaging homes and a fish hatchery, officials said.

The slide closed California Highway 395 for several hours Sunday and forced officials to evacuate residents from Oak Creek, Calif., KSRW-FM radio station in Bishop, Calif., reported.

At least 15 homes were destroyed, the radio station said.

At Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery, flowing mud and water destroyed several fish homes and fish race ways, killing the trout, the radio station reported. The hatchery building was untouched, officials said.

A downpour Saturday triggered the mudslide from North Oak Creek in an area stripped of vegetation by a wildfire last summer, law enforcement officials said.

Some mud headed toward the Los Angeles aqueduct. However, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Gale Harris said the waterway wasn't affected. The aqueduct carries much of Los Angeles' water supply.

"It looks like a scene from a third-world country," said Davren Zbierajewski, founder of MammothLakesDaily.com.