91原创 City tested the waters of Nicomekl Creek after residents reported they turned black and gave off a strange smell following a major fire downtown on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Early Saturday morning, the building hosting Viva Mexico restaurant on 91原创 City's one-way section of Fraser Highway went up in flames. City and Township firefighters were at the scene throughout the day, pouring water on the blaze and preventing its spread to neighbouring structures.

In the early afternoon, Carl Vredik was walking his dog through Portage Park, just south of the City's downtown, when he came upon some kids looking at juvenile salmon that appeared to be gasping for air.

That's when he got a good look at the creek.

"I was like, oh my gosh, the water was just black."

He said there was a significant odour, too.

"The smell was quite intense."

Vredik assumed the issue with the creek might be related to the fire. He recalled an incident earlier this year when .

Vredik said the smell and black colour cleared up by the next day.

He was one of several people who contacted 91原创 City about the issue, said City Fire Chief Scott Kennedy.

He said he couldn't say if runoff from the fire did or did not cause any issues in the creek, but it is always a concern when a creek is the low point near a fire.

However, on both Oct. 6 and 8, 91原创 City had a third party do water quality sampling in the Nicomekl after receiving reports from residents.

Kennedy quoted the report, which said that levels of dissolved oxygen in the water were above the minimum quality guidelines. In other words, any fish in the creek should have been able to breathe.

The consultant who did the report spotted an adult salmon swimming upstream by Oct. 8, Kennedy said.

There is a 24-hour contact for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which the agency says is for reporting "illegal fisheries activity, a dead or entangled marine mammal, or salmon in distress due to an extreme environmental event."

For any of those situations, people can contact: DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, or call toll free 1-800-465-4336, or in Metro Vancouver call 604-607-4186.