Thursday's updated U.S. Drought Monitor map showed a significant increase for California in the worst drought category, with "Exceptional Drought" conditions now extending through eastern Siskiyou County right up to the California-Oregon border.
The extreme weather conditions have threatened the environment.
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Students in a wildlife biology program at Petaluma's Casa Grande High School have saved two thousand endangered Coho Salmon from Lake Sonoma, where the drought has caused the water to heat up to unhealthy levels.
The group was assisted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who used nets to scoop up hundreds of three-year-old salmon and transfer them to a nearby truck.
"We're just not sure how long our cold water is going to last here," said Ben White, Supervisory Fisheries Biologist with the corps. The hatchery near the base of the Lake Sonoma Dam relies on cold water to keep the fish alive.
"The idea is kind of to hedge our bet a little," said White. "Move 50% of them to another facility, and that way if we don’t get cold water, we don’t get the rain we’re expecting in the winter, then at least we have a safety net, a back up plan already in place."
The fish will have a new temporary home at the Casa Grande High School student-run hatchery.
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