California's Oroville Dam Latest: Evacuation Order Issued For Nearly 200,000 Residents

BUTTE COUNTY, CA — Fire officials have issued evacuation orders for nearly 200,000 people around Oroville Dam after a hole developed in an emergency spillway, putting the massive structure in danger of failing and causing massive and widespread floods.

Residents in Oroville, Marysville, Hallwood, Olivehurst/Linda and Plumas Lake, Gridley, Live Oak, Yuba City and areas of Yuba, Sutter and Butte counties were told to leave Sunday evening. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Oroville at 4:15 p.m. Highways were jammed for hours following the evacuation order.

Residents have been directed to the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds located at 2357 Fair St. in Chico, according to Butte County officials. The Cal Expo is now open for evacuees and the Red Cross has also opened a temporary shelter in Sacramento, according to the Sac County Office of Emergency Services. The Citrus Heights Community Center, 6300 Fountain Square Drive in Citrus Heights, will be open through at least 10 a.m. Monday. An additional evacuation center is open at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley. Residents with horses and motorhomes have been directed to Gibson Ranch.

A swift water rescue team out of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District mobilized Sunday evening to assist, the district's chief said. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services has activated all state-sponsored California Swift Water Rescue Teams. The 14-person team from Menlo Park is one of the state's first, fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. The team is staging in Chico. Firefighters from Alameda, Orange and Los Angeles counties have been sent to assist.

Cal Fire officials said public safety is their top priority and hand crews have been placed on both sides of the river in case of flooding.

But there may be a glimmer of hope. The failure was expected within one to two hours - and that time has already passed without the auxiliary spillway failing. Also, officials have come up with a fix: They plan to drop rocks from helicopters onto the damaged area in hopes of shoring it up.

Still, officials warned that storms expected this week could create further damage.

California Governor Jerry Brown thanked first responders and issued an emergency order for the area Monday night.

“I’ve been in close contact with emergency personnel managing the situation in Oroville throughout the weekend and it’s clear the circumstances are complex and rapidly changing,” said Brown in a statement. “I want to thank local and state law enforcement for leading evacuation efforts and doing their part to keep residents safe. The state is directing all necessary personnel and resources to deal with this very serious situation.”

Many Butte County schools have been closed through Friday. Click here for a full list of school closures. All classes and facilities at Butte College were canceled today and through Tuesday, according to college officials. University officials said facilities at California State University at Chico will be open.

Nearly 600 inmates from the Butte County Jail in Oroville have been evacuated and transported to Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail. They will be returned to the jail once the threat of flooding subsides, officials said.

A team from the Salvation Army Chico Corps and Santa Rosa will be helping to provide meals to evacuees. Displaced residents can call 2-1-1 for additional information.

Construction of Oroville Dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1968. The dam created Lake Oroville, the second largest man-made lake in California. It’s filled to the rim with more than 3.5 million acre-feet of water. The 770-foot-tall Oroville Dam is the nation’s tallest, about 44 feet higher than Hoover Dam on the Colorado River.

Water flows into the Feather River, and from there into the California Aqueduct, supplying farmers in the Central Valley and municipal water departments in Southern California.

Oroville has a population of 16,000 residents and Marysville is a population of about 12,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The total population of the evacuation area is now more than 200,000.

See Also:

• Hundreds of Butte County Inmates Evacuated to Santa Rita Jail
  
• LA County Swiftwater Rescue Teams Called Back From Oroville
• Oroville Dam: Oregon Red Cross Volunteers Help Evacuees

Patch Editor Bea Karnes and Bay City News contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy Google Maps