"We don't have a lot of time," Wilkinson said during a news conference.

"A number of the chinook runs are already circling and waiting to get up. The sockeye run, which is perhaps two million, will start to arrive within a couple weeks. So, we expect somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 fish per day arriving below the rock slide."

He said rock scalers, engineers and blasters are trying to find a solution to the natural disaster.

"It is imperative we do whatever we can to enable as many fish as possible to pass through the slide to secure sustainability of these runs, and obviously the communities who rely on these stocks," Wilkinson said.

"This is obviously a very challenging situation, one that could have long-term consequences for the communities on the river and far beyond."