Evacuation Orders Intact As Water Officials Analyze Oroville Dam Emergency Spillway

IN BRIEF:

• Evacuation information: BUTTE COUNTY (530) 872-5951; YUBA AND SUTTER COUNTIES 866-916-3566
• Butte County Sheriff: Work is underway to prevent further erosion of the spillway, which no longer has water flowing over it.  A flash flood warning for the county until 4:15 p.m. Monday.
• Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Oroville to Sutter County line. Evacuations were recommended for Yuba City, but are not mandatory.
• Evacuation Centers:
  • Beale AFB
  • Glenn County Fairgrounds ( 221 E Yolo St., Orland)
  • Gibson Ranch (Phone: (916) 806-3868 | 8554 Gibson Ranch Park Rd., Elverta)
  • Neighborhood Church (2801 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico)
  • Nevada County Fairgrounds (11228 McCourtney Rd., Grass Valley)
  • Placer County Fairgrounds (800 All America City Blvd., Roseville)
  • Silver Dollar Fairgrounds (2357 Fair St., Chico)
  • Yolo Fairgrounds (1250 E. Gum Street in Woodland)
• The following areas were ordered to evacuate:
  • Biggs
  • Gridley
  • Live Oak
  • Linda
  • Marysville
  • Nicolaus
  • Oroville Dam
  • Oroville East
  • Oroville

  

• Palermo
• Plumas Lake
• South Oroville
• Thermalito
• Wyandotte
  
• Sutter County Officials: Evacuate West on Hwy 20 and/or South on Hwy 99 and Hwy 70 toward Sacramento.
• Damage to the spillway is not expected to impact Yolo County or Roseville say officials.

10:28 P.M. Update:

Flows over the auxiliary spillway have ceased, but flows of 100,000 cfs are continuing down the main spillway.

9:53 P.M. Update:

The Department of Water Resources confirms that the water level has decreased and is no longer flowing over the emergency spillway.

Per Amtrak, northbound and southbound Starlight line travelers will be bussed around the evacuation area. Union Pacific is holding rail traffic from Sacramento to Redding.

9:23 P.M. Update:

The water level on Oroville Dam has dropped below 901 feet, which is the edge of the emergency spillway.

8:46 P.M. Update

Several Sikh temples in the Sacramento area are open for people evacuated by the dam spillway incident. 

8 P.M. Update

Butte County offices in the Oroville area will be closed for business tomorrow due to the evacuation.

At least 130,000 people have been asked to evacuate over concerns California's Oroville Dam's emergency spillway could fail.

Officials say Oroville Lake levels are decreasing as they let water flow from its heavily damaged main spillway but point out water is still spilling over the dam.

California officials say the cities of Oroville, Gridley, Live Oak, Marysville, Wheat land, Yuba City, Plumas Lake, and Olivehurst are all under evacuation orders.

7:38 P.M. Update

Southbound Highway 70 at Highway 149, southbound Highway 149 at Highway 99, and Highway 99 on Marysville are CLOSED. Officials are working on opening both sides of northbound Highway 70.

The Nevada County Fairgrounds will be opened as an emergency evacuation center. Access will be via gate 4. RV's are welcome and there will be space for animal evacuations as well.

The Silver Dollar Fairgrounds evacuation center is full. A second evacuation center has been opened at Neighborhood Church in Chico, 2801 Notre Dame.

7:19 P.M. Update

The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has activated the State Operations Center to provide assistance to Butte County for the potential Oroville Dam spillway failure, the agency says.

Cal OES Fire, Law Enforcement, and Inland Region personnel are currently working with various response agencies to address all emergency management, evacuation, and mutual aid needs.

For more information about this incident you can visit http://www.caloes.ca.gov or follow them on twitter: http://twitter.com/Cal_OES and the California Department of Water Resources: http://twitter.com/CA_DWR.

6:58 P.M. UPDATE: 

The Department of Water Resources plans to use helicopters to drop rocks to fill in the gouge in the Oroville Auxilliary Spillway to stabilize the area.

6:38 P.M. UPDATE:

• The emergency spillway is at 901.65 feet.

5:15 p.m. UPDATE:

Officials have ordered residents near the Oroville Dam in Northern California to evacuate the area, saying a "hazardous situation is developing" after an emergency spillway severely eroded.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office says the emergency spillway could fail within an hour unleashing uncontrolled flood waters from Lake Oroville.

The department says people in downstream areas need to leave the area immediately.

It says residents of Oroville, a town of 16,000 people, should head north toward Chico and that other cities should follow orders from their local law enforcement agencies.

Water began flowing over the emergency spillway at dam on Saturday for the first time in its nearly 50-year history after heavy rainfall.

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OROVILLE (CBS13/AP) -- The Butte County Sheriff's Office has issued an evacuation notice for the low levels of Oroville and areas downstream from the Oroville Dam.

The emergency spillway is eroding which could lead to a failure of the structure sending an uncontrolled release of flood water from Lake Oroville

The Feather river will experience a rapid rise in water level affecting surrounding areas as the main spillway releases are increased to 100,000 cfs from the current 55,000 cfs. We have a crew on the way to the Dam.

An evacuation center has been set up at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico.

Here is the full text of the alert:

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Sacramento CA
447 PM PST SUN FEB 12 2017

CAC007-140015-
/O.CON.KSTO.FF.W.0001.000000T0000Z-170214T0015Z/
/00000.3.DM.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
BUTTE CA-
447 PM PST SUN FEB 12 2017

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR A DAM FAILURE REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
415 PM PST MONDAY FOR SOUTH CENTRAL BUTTE COUNTY... At 441 PM PST

* Flash Flood Warning for... A Dam Failure in... South central Butte
County in northern California...

* Until 415 PM PST Monday

* At 445 PM PST, Officials now anticipate a failure of the
auxiliary spillway in 60 minutes. Residents of Oroville should
evacuate in a northward direction such as towards Chico.

Other city's should follow the orders of their local law
enforcement. Operation of the auxiliary spillway has lead to severe
erosion that has lead to a failure of the structure. Failure of the
auxiliary spillway structure will result in an uncontrolled release
of flood waters from Lake Oroville.

Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville areas
downstream is ordered. From Oroville to Gridley...low level areas
around the feather river will experience rapid river rises.

This is not a Drill. This is not a Drill. Repeat this is not a
drill.

* Locations impacted include...
Oroville, Palermo, Gridley, Thermalito, South Oroville, Oroville
Dam, Oroville East and Wyandotte.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life.

In:
• Flooding