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Officials
were scrambling to fix a failed spillway at the Oroville Dam in
Northern California on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. Sarah Litz/RGJ Embed
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSWatch: Oroville Dam crisis update | 0:59
Officials were scrambling to fix a failed spillway at the Oroville Dam in Northern California on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017.
Sarah Litz/RGJ
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSChopper flies over damaged spillway at Oroville Dam | 0:29
Water continues to rush out of a damaged spillway at the Oroville Dam. Evacuations remain in place for residents downriver.
USA TODAY NETWORK
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSRaw: Rocks Used to Plug California Dam Spillway | 0:37
Helicopters
are airlifting massive bags of rocks in northern California, attempting
to use them to plug the damaged spillway of the Oroville dam. (Feb. 14)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSResidents Wait-Out Dam Emergency in Shelters | 1:01
A
shelter in Chico, California was crowded with residents affected by the
mandatory evacuations in place near the Oroville dam. A sheriff said
Monday that residents may not be allowed home until a crumbling spillway
is fixed. (Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSRaw: Video shows water gush through dam spillway | 1:03
Nearly
200,000 people remained under evacuation orders Monday as California
authorities try to fix erosion of the emergency spillway at the nation's
tallest dam that could unleash uncontrolled flood waters if it fails.
(Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSCa. evacuation may not end until dam fixes made | 2:01
The
Butte County, Calif. sheriff said Monday that nearly 200 thousand
residents may not be allowed to retun to their homes until repairs have
been completed on a spillway at the Orville dam. (Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSSee water gushing out of the Oroville Dam from the air | 0:55
Aerial
footage shows water gushing down the spillway of Oroville Dam during
the same week the spillway collapsed because of damage, causing at least
188,000 people to evacuate the area.
USA TODAY NETWORK
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSRaw: Crews work to shore up spillway at Oroville | 1:09
Tons of rock are being bagged like gigantic sand bags in an effort to slow the erosion on the spillway at the dam on Lake Oroville after thousands of residents were evacuated downstream from the dam. (Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSOroville is a ghost town | 0:51
A day after the Oroville Dam crisis forced officials to evacuate downstream communities, the city of Oroville is all but empty.
Wochit
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSOfficials assess water damage at Oroville dam | 1:52
Water
levels dropped Monday at California's Lake Oroville, stopping water
from spilling over a massive dam's potentially hazardous emergency
spillway after authorities ordered the evacuation of nearly 200,000
people from towns lying below. (Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSNearly 200,000 told to evacuate from dam area | 1:18
Nearly
200,000 people remained under evacuation orders in Northern California
Monday, as water pours through a dam spillway, threatining a number of
cities. (Feb. 13)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSDamaged dam threatens to unleash uncontrolled floodwaters | 0:36
Correction:
An earlier version of this video misstated the location. California
officials are working feverishly to relieve pressure to California's
Oroville Dam to slow the water flow.
USA TODAY NETWORK
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSCalifornia may be in for a massive flood | 1:04
California’s
been hurting for rain the last few years.. but some scientists say they
should get ready for a flood of biblical proportions. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland).
Buzz60
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERS200-foot-long hole in damaged Calif. dam | 1:48
Water
could pour over an emergency spillway at Lake Oroville for the first
time ever, a last-ditch alternative that California officials said they
had been hoping to avoid. (Feb. 10)
AP
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HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS DAMAGED DAM UNLEASHES FLOODWATERSRaw: New Calif. storm brings flooding, mudslides | 1:40
The latest storm in the wet California winter triggered street flooding and rockslides around the San Francisco Bay Area. South of San Francisco, one of several rock and mudslides overturned a pickup truck on a state route near Santa Cruz. (Feb. 7)
AP
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- Watch: Oroville Dam crisis update
- Chopper flies over damaged spillway at Oroville Dam
- Raw: Rocks Used to Plug California Dam Spillway
- Residents Wait-Out Dam Emergency in Shelters
- Raw: Video shows water gush through dam spillway
- Ca. evacuation may not end until dam fixes made
- See water gushing out of the Oroville Dam from the air
- Raw: Crews work to shore up spillway at Oroville
- Oroville is a ghost town
- Officials assess water damage at Oroville dam
- Nearly 200,000 told to evacuate from dam area
- Damaged dam threatens to unleash uncontrolled floodwaters
- California may be in for a massive flood
- 200-foot-long hole in damaged Calif. dam
- Raw: New Calif. storm brings flooding, mudslides
In a letter dated Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered the California Department of Water Resources to "initiate immediate design of emergency repair to minimize further degradation" of both structures, which have been eroding as water flows out of Lake Oroville this week.
The primary spillway, which technicians use to release water from Lake Oroville into the Feather River as the lake's water level rises, has a concrete bottom that has had a "gaping hole" in its floor since Feb. 7, officials said. Technicians reduced the amount of water flowing down that spillway and the lake's level kept rising. On Saturday, the lake reached capacity and water began to flow down a dirt hillside known as the dam's "emergency spillway."
Monday's letter, authored by David E. Capka, acting director of the Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, orders the Department of Water Resources to organize a board of at least five consultants by the end of the week. These consultants must be experts in structural engineering, spillway hydraulics and dam design and construction. They are to assess conditions at Oroville's primary and emergency spillways and the Oroville Dam-adjacent Hyatt Power Plant and make recommendations about spillway repairs and modifications.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates dams that produce hydropower, also wants an independent forensic analysis of the spillway's failure.
On Tuesday, California water officials continued to work around the clock to repair the emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam as they brace for more rain later this week.
Chris Orrock, a spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources, said water is not going over the emergency spillway and erosion has stopped. Lake Oroville is at 889 feet and the goal is to drop the level to around 850 feet. Lake levels reached 902 feet when water started cascading over the emergency spillway Sunday.
“Through our calculations, it looks like that will get us through the next storm,” Orrock said Tuesday morning of the 850-foot goal.
A pair of storms are expected to hit California this week, and forecasters say they will be strong enough to bring 2 to 6 inches of rains to Oroville.
More than 100 federal officials are providing aid to the disaster relief/prevention efforts through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency confirmed Tuesday.
An incident management team and members from its regional response center in Oakland and in Washington, D.C., have been called in, said Mary Simms, spokeswoman for the regional FEMA office.
More than 100 specialists have been assigned to the Oroville Spillway incident nationwide, including 45 either on the ground or at the regional center, open 24 hours a day, she said.
Officials continue to release 100,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) down the main spillway while 20,000 to 40,000 cfs is coming into the lake. “So we are taking out a lot more water than is coming in,” Orrock said.
Helicopters dropped boulders into the holes and gouges which appeared as a result of the erosion of the emergency spillway.
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Officials were scrambling to fix a failed spillway at the Oroville Dam in Northern California on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017.
Sarah Litz/RGJ
Evacuation orders are still in place and there is no word when they will be lifted.
Orrock emphasized again that Oroville Dam has not been compromised and is not affected by the eroding emergency spillway.
“Our primary concern is the safety of the community,” he said. “We don’t want to lift the evacuation orders and have them come back and then have another incident ... and have them leave again,” Orrock said.
The nearly 200,000 evacuated residents were told Monday it could be up to two weeks before they secure the eroded section of the emergency spillway enough to let them return to their homes without the threat of a catastrophic flood.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, appealed to President Trump on Monday to declare a major emergency for the area and by evening California Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters he had held a conversation with a Trump Cabinet member he declined to name.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing 150,000 bottles of water, 20,000 blankets and 10,000 cots to support residents affected by the evacuation.
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Water continues to rush out of a damaged spillway at the Oroville Dam. Evacuations remain in place for residents downriver.
USA TODAY NETWORK
Speaking from the headquarters of the Office of Emergency Services just outside Sacramento, Brown pledged Monday night more scrutiny will be placed on California’s massive infrastructure network.
Contributing: Alayna Shulman, Amber Sandhu, Sean Longoria, Sarah Litz, Mike Higdon, Jenny Espino, Rosalie Murphy and Nathan Solis, USA TODAY Network.
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