Goyette said he ran into BC Hydro crews out on the river surveying the damage, one of whom warned him about what he was about to encounter further up the river.

"I passed one of their crew … and he said, 'There's hundreds of dead fish up there so don't be surprised,'" Goyette said.

Biologist Chessy Knight, who captured photos of the dead fish on Sept. 20, estimates about 300 fish were killed when the water levels in the Cheakamus River fell by about half over the course of a day.

The pink salmon were trapped in shallow pools and couldn't return to deeper, flowing sections of the river.