Oroville Dam-area mandatory evacuations lifted

According to Linville, there still remained a “heightened awareness” of the Oroville Dam situation with the new storm approaching.

Providing water and flood control, the dam can hold more than 4.363537 km of water – the equivalent of 1.75million Olympic swimming pools.

“Our volunteers train and exercise all year long so that they will be able to respond to not only local disasters, but national ones as well”, stated Lynne Gump, Executive Director of the Northern Miami Valley Ohio Chapter.

Volunteers fold clothes at an emergency shelter on February 14, 2017 in Chico, California.

Butte County Sheriff Korea Honea downgraded the evacuation, after receiving word from Department of Water Resources officials that construction crews are making great progress in reinforcing the backup spillway. Engineers don’t know what caused the cave-in, but a Department of Water Resources spokesman told the Associated Press it appears the dam’s main spillway has stopped crumbling even though it’s being used for water releases. Dump trucks full of boulders also were dumping cargo on the damaged spillway. “We also are using two helicopters to swing in bags of rock”. At 8 a.m., water began an uncontrolled flow over the Emergency Spillway, washing debris into the Feather River.

It added: “This is NOT a Drill”.

The rising water topped over the earthen backup spillway, which has a concrete top, for the first time in the dam’s 50-year history over the weekend.

What happened to the dam’s spillways? Meanwhile, work continues to shore up the Oroville Dam’s crumbling emergency spillway ahead of the rain expected late Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the reservoir’s water level has dropped 15 feet in preparation for coming rain and melting snow. “I would rather be up here in a little discomfort for a few days and make sure that I’m not going to get flooded out of my house”, one person said.

Catastrophic failures at a dam in California combined with heavy winter storms have forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Officials say the water level at the lake behind the dam is now low enough to accommodate the expected rain.

Almost 200,000 people were affected by evacuations after water scoured enormous holes in two of the dam’s concrete spillways beginning Sunday, raising concerns that the tallest dam in the country could fail.

As of Tuesday, officials still had yet to indicate when it would be safe for people to go home.

They have now been told they can return home – but to be on guard for any future warnings.