Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery has lost work space, important materials and, most importantly, its home after a fire the afternoon of April 22.

A post on the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) Facebook page April 23 said flames had wiped out the FISH volunteer office, a place that brought the community together for the last 30 years. The hatchery itself is run by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), but FISH handles the tours, outreach and events for the hatchery, which is the most visited in the state.

“The hatchery isn’t just a place — it’s a living thread in the fabric of our town,” the post says. “It’s where children meet their first salmon, where generations come together to witness the wonder of nature and where our community has found meaning, purpose and pride for nearly a century.”

FISH Executive Director Mark Clemens said the King County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and found that a faulty light fixture caused the fire. No living creatures, fish or otherwise, were harmed during the incident, and Clemens said the fire will not impact the public’s access to the hatchery.

The building, while utilized largely by FISH, is owned by WDFW. Clemens said WDFW will deal with insurance on the property, as well as be responsible for restoring it.

FISH has its own work cut out for it in rebuilding its collection of materials and resources. The organization lost much of its event equipment — signage, tables, canopies — that it uses for things like school science fairs. It also lost resources for its tour guides, like uniforms and handmade materials used for demonstrations.

FISH, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, relies heavily on donations, monetarily and otherwise. Clemens said he estimates the loss to be about $10,000. There is not yet a specific donation page for the fire, but he said FISH has received more than $3,000 since the fire through its general donation page, issaquahfish.org/donations.

Clemens said FISH is now putting together a contingency plan for fulfilling commitments it has in the coming weeks, such as presentations, tours and other programming. Staff will also be cataloging all the organization’s items, working to recover what few items it can and noting what needs to be replaced, he said.

Once everything is cataloged, FISH will have more specific donation opportunities, as well as volunteer work parties to remake some of the handmade materials.

Clemens said “the emotional loss is significant” as well. FISH lost decades-old photographs of Issaquah Salmon Days, handwritten letters from the community and years worth of donated items.

In addition to donating time or money, Clemens said community members can help by sharing their stories of FISH.

“I think that those just lift people’s spirits,” he said. “We love reading that kind of stuff, and it sort of reinforces what we’re doing.”

The remains of the Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery volunteer office after the April 22 fire. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery