A sudden Monday shutdown at a dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot River may have killed thousands of fish, leaving Maine anglers and guides warning that a nationally recognized cold-water fishery is being put at repeated risk. It marks at least the second time in three years that an unplanned outage at the dam has drastically cut river flows, following a similar 2023 incident. One biologist estimated that thousands of fish, including young landlocked salmon, could have died due to the event. Left: A charred crossarm is visible atop a utility pole along the transmission line from Brookfield Renewable’s McKay Station. A video posted Tuesday by Magalloway River Farm in western Maine showed exposed river bottom following a different turbine shutdown on that river near another dam owned by Brookfield.