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Mar 14, 2023

First the drought, now this? Logs clog boat launches on Lake Shasta.

Mark Louton loaded up his boat on a trailer Friday and headed up to Lake Shasta

Mark Louton loaded up his boat on a trailer Friday and headed up to Lake Shasta to do some exploring out on the water. But when he got down to the Centimudi boat launch he came across a sight that forced him to change his plans.

The boat launch was socked in with driftwood and other debris, and Louton said he didn't want to push through all the material just to get his boat out on the water.

"I've come down here a few times and I don't think there was debris last time I came down to the boat ramp. There was (debris) further around by the dam ― whole lot. I'm kind of not surprised. I didn't even think of it. I'm not sure where the other ramps are," Louton said.

While visitors enjoy a full, blue Lake Shasta this year, there has been at least one temporary drawback. The amount of driftwood in the water has caused some frustration for boaters and the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that manages the land around the lake.

Joe Stubbendick, recreation officer for the Shasta Lake Ranger District, said it has been frustrating trying to keep boat ramps cleared out this spring.

"We can do some things and we're doing those things. And it's honestly quite a challenge and a bit of a losing proposition," keeping up with the problem, he said.

All that driftwood floating around the lake and congregating in coves had previously been stuck along the lake's 365 miles of shoreline the past couple years as the lake level dropped to near record-low levels during the most recent drought.

But the heavy rain and snow that fell over the North State this year drastically changed conditions for the lake.

As water from tributaries rushed into the reservoir and the lake level went up, the logs, sticks and branches along the broad shoreline were also lifted up by the rising waters and set free to bob along the surface to wherever the wind blew them.

And depending on the wind, the wood can come and go to different gathering spots around the reservoir, Stubbendick said. Some of that debris has been blown into other boat launches on the lake. But Centimudi seems to get hit the hardest, he said.

The forest service and Shasta Recreation Company, which manage the boat ramps and campgrounds, sends out tractors to scoop debris out of the water, Stubbendick said. They also use floating booms to corral the driftwood and tow it off.

But the wind keeps blowing and the wood keeps floating, Stubbendick said.

"And so you scoop and scoop and scoop until it's clear and then you're good. And then the wind shifts and then it all comes back in," he said.

With seven boat launches on the lake, skiers, anglers and explorers like Louton have several other options to choose from, Stubbendick said.

Forrest Baker towed his boat up from Red Bluff to Centimudi on Friday to give it a trial run before heading up to Alaska for some fishing. But he estimated the coagulation of driftwood extended 80 yards out into the water. That much debris posed too much of a risk of damaging his craft, he said.

A quick check of two public boat launches easily accessible from Interstate 5 revealed the Packer's Bay and Antler's boat ramps were clear of driftwood.

A phone recording at Shasta Recreation company on Friday said the Centimudi, Jones Valley, Packer's Bay, Hirz Bay, Bailey Cove and Antler's public boat launches were available on the lake.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at [email protected] and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!