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BREAKING: Threat of Oroville spillway collapse prompts evacuation of Marysville, Yuba, Butte and Sutter counties

Cross-posted to 5 groups.

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Yuba City resident: ‘I think this panic is unnecessary.’

8:10 p.m.: Darlene Tulumello, 52, an unemployed legal secretary 
in Yuba City, was parked at the gas station with her husband and 
two cats, trying to figure out where to go.

Just an hour before, she said, they had been doing their grocery 
shopping when the store announced that it was closing.

Tulumello said they might head to Colusa, though she wasn’t 
feeling the same sense of urgency to get out of town as the 
miles of cars backed up on the freeway. Just yesterday, she 
added, she had been thinking about sticking around at home.

“I think this panic is unnecessary,” Tulumello said. “You might 
as well sit back, have a beer and let fate take its course.”

State water officials will hold press conference at 9 p.m. with 
next update

California Department of Water Resources announced that it will 
provide another update at 9 p.m. The press confernce will air on 
Periscope.

Chico evacuation center is full; additional shelter open at 
Neighborhood Church

Butte County announced at 7:40 p.m. that the Silver Dollar 
Fairgrounds evacuation center is full. Another shelter is 
available at the Neighborhood Church in Chico, 2801 Notre Dame 
Blvd.

Sacramento hotels filling with evacuees

Evacuees are reserving hotel rooms along Hwy. 99 and Interstate 
5 in Sacramento near the airport. The Homewood Suites by Hilton 
started getting calls around 6 p.m., said Front Desk Agent Gao 
Hang. Twenty reservations were made within the hour in back-to-
back phone calls.

“They didn’t care about the price at all because they just need 
a place to go,” she said. “It’s not just us.”

Two neighboring hotels are filling up as well, she said. The 
Homewood Suites is about 75 percent reserved so far.

Lake levels down, but risk remains

7:15 p.m.

Oroville Lake depths are decreasing rapidly as officials release 
a huge amount of water from its main spillway.

Lake levels have fallen about one-half a foot in the last two 
hours and stand at 901.35 feet, about four-tenths of a foot 
above the level where water flows through the emergency 
spillway, state figures show.

At that pace, water should stop spilling over the emergency 
spillway within several hours, giving officials a chance to more 
fully assess erosion.

Falling depths do not mean the areas below the dam are safe. The 
emergency spillway is essentially part of the dam and the 
concern is that it will fail, something that could happen even 
if water stops flowing over its top.

Evacuations are widespread

More than 160,000 people in evacuation area

More than 162,000 residents in Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties 
were affected by Sunday night’s evacuation orders, census 
figures show.

Butte sheriff: Situation improving

State Department of Water Resources told Butte County Sheriff 
Kony Honea shortly after 6 p.m. that “the erosion that caused 
all this concern was not advancing as rapidly as they thought.”

“That’s a very good thing,” he said.

There is a plan currently in place which would hopefully plug 
that hole, Honea said, including using helicopters dropping bags 
of rock into the crevasse to prevent any further erosion.

He said two inches of water is still coming over the dam, which 
“is significantly down” from earlier flows.

“That has helped reduce the level of the lake,” he said. “It’s 
hopefully going to reduce the pressure on that alternative, 
emergency spillway and stabilize the situation so we can find a 
repair and hopefully prevent it from complete failure.”

Meanwhile, officials say they’ve mobilized swift-water rescue 
teams to be ready should they need to rescue people in 
floodwaters below the dam.

Horse boarding, RV space offered

Sacramento businessman and former congressman Doug Ose is 
offering to help board horses for people affected by the 
evacuation.

“Gibson Ranch in northern Sacto County can accommodate 25 horses 
and RVs/campers/tents 916-806-3110,” Ose tweeted.

Residents scared

Some evacuees in Marysville say their mood is bordering on panic.

Erin English of Linda said she got a robo-call a few minutes ago 
telling her to evacuate and get to higher ground.

She immediately called 911 and dispatchers there at first told 
her to go to Chico, then changed their mind saying that she 
might not make it there before water came through.

Instead they told her to go to the Colusa Casino.

She was getting gas in South Marysville with her husband and two 
children and her dogs. They didn’t have time, she said, to grab 
anything from their home.

“I’m scared to death. I’ve never been through anything like this 
before,” she said. “I pray for the safety of everybody here.”

Kevin Carroll of Marysville said he’s dubious about the 
evacuation order, but he is obeying.

He lives on the banks of the Feather River and says the river is 
not high and could handle a lot more water.

Nevertheless he said the evacuation order is mandatory so he and 
his wife are gathering up some clothes and the dogs and heading 
out.

“My wife said go,” he said. “The river is right on our back 
door.”

He doesn’t expect Marysville to flood though.

“I’m not saying it won’t,” he said. “There’s a lot of room in 
that river right now.

“It can save lives or be a waste of time,” he said. “I hope for 
the best for the evacuees. Be safe.”

Expert says spillway failure could be catastrophic

6:26 p.m.

Nicholas Sitar, the Edward G. Cahill and John R. Cahill 
Professor of Civil Engineering at UC Berkeley, said losing 30 
feet from the top of the emergency spillway could be 
catastrophic.

“You look at 30 feet times the area of the reservoir,” he said. 
“That is how much water is going to come out. That is a huge 
volume of water.”

He said the Department of Water Resources is “dumping as much 
water as the river could handle.”

He said, “All that you do is watch it – whatever expert you talk 
to, all you can do is hope for the best.”

Evacuation expands

6:15 p.m.

Caltrans tweeted that the evacuation for Yuba, Sutter and Butte 
counties includes Hallwood, Marysville, Olivehurst/Linda, Plumas 
Lake, Gridley, Live Oak and Yuba City due to potential failure 
of Oroville Dam spillway.

Oroville and other area residents streaming out of town have 
created a large traffic jam at Highway 99 and Bogue Road, where 
many are fueling their vehicles and heading for safety.

Jessica Robertson, 28, a Yuba City resident, was among the 
throngs Sunday night filling her gas tank after receiving the 
word to get out.

“I’m fine, but I’m a little irritated with the traffic,” she 
said. “I hope everyone stays safe. They’re saying everything’s 
going to be fine, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Michelle Grandinetti and her family quickly left their home off 
Oroville Quincy Highway and tried to get on Hwy. 70 to head for 
a family member’s home in Elk Grove. Grandinetti described a 
slow-going, frantic scene.

“We took enough clothes for three days, our children, seven 
total that are still with us, our two dogs and food for them!,” 
Grandinetti wrote in a Facebook message to The Bee. “We just 
moved here a few months ago and haven’t ever had to deal with 
this! Everyone is leaving! All the stores are closed! Just got 
on the freeway and the river is only feet away!”

Effect on Sacramento?

Sacramento emergency officials are monitoring impact of Oroville 
Dam emergency

Sacramento County emergency services officials say they are 
assessing what, if any, impact the Oroville Dam situation may 
have on Sacamento.

“We are aware of the situation in Oroville and will continue to 
monitor for any impacts it may have on Sacramento County,” 
authorities said in a tweet.

The worst case scenario

There is no map showing exactly what will happen if the 
emergency spillway collapses tonight. Officials only have a map 
showing a failure of the dam. That worst case scenario is useful 
in that it shows where water goes and how fast it gets there.

Water would get to the town of Oroville within an hour.

If Oroville Dam were to suffer a massive breach, water would get 
to the town of Oroville within an hour, according to GIS maps 
maintained by CalFire.

Within two hours, the small town of Briggs would be affected. In 
three hours, Gridley would be hit. Water would reach Live Oak in 
five hours..

It would take eight to 12 hours for the water to get to 
Marysville and Yuba City.

If the dam completely failed, flood depths could reach more than 
100 feet in Oroville and up to 10 feet in Yuba City.

The CalFire maps represent a catastrophic breach and are not 
necessarily indicative of what could happen tonight.

Heavy traffic amid evacuation

5:59 p.m.

Aerial photos show traffic backed up along Highway 70 as people 
from Oroville try to escape to the north.

Flows boosted to try to avoid collapse

5:52 p.m.

Releases through the main spillway at Oroville Dam have been 
boosted to 100,000 cubic feet per second from 55,000 cfs in 
hopes of easing pressure on the emergency spillway before a 
failure occurs, officials said Sunday night.

Kevin Dossey, a Department of Water Resources engineer and 
spokesman said “it might help” to alleviate the pressure.

So far, Dossey said, the emergency spillway’s concrete lip at 
the top has not crumbled, although the hillside had “eroded to 
within several feet” of the big concrete structure.

Marysville and Yuba County ordered evacuated; officials unsure 
how Sacramento could be hit

Marysville, Yuba County ordered to evacuate

5:42 p.m.

Marysville police say the city and Yuba County are under 
mandatory evacuation orders because of the feared collapse of 
the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville Dam. Yolo County 
officials said in a tweet that they do not expect any impact.

Witnesses reported a heavy police presence in the city.

“The hazardous situation concerning the Oroville Dam auxiliary 
spillway is NOT expected to impact Yolo County,” the county said.

Cal OES spokesman Brad Alexander said officials were activating 
the state emergency operations center and could not immediately 
address how waterlogged Sacramento County might be affected.

“I can’t answer that right now,” Alexander said.

‘It’s uncontrolled’

5:30 p.m.

Fearing a gush from Lake Oroville if the emergency spillway 
collapses, officials are releasing as much as 100,000 cubic feet 
per second from the main, heavily damaged spillway in a frantic 
effort to drain the lake below where it spills out the emergency 
structure when the lake reaches maximum capacity, said Kevin 
Dossey, an engineer and Department of Water Resources spokesman.

The levee-line downstream channels in the Feather River could 
hold more than 150,000 cubic feet per second, said Maury Roos, a 
DWR hydrologist, but he said there’s a possibility that a levee 
could breach from the pressure.

Roos said that below where the Feather River merges with the 
Yuba River, levees are rated for a capacity of around 300,000 
cfs.

When asked how much water could be released should the spillway 
collapse, DWR spokesman Chris Orrock said, “It’s uncontrolled. 
It’s uncontrolled.”

Dossey said the emergency spillway was rated to handle 250,000 
cubic feet per second, but it began to show weakness Sunday at a 
small fraction of that. Flows through the spillway peaked at 
12,600 cfs at 1 a.m. Sunday and were down to 8,000 cfs by midday.

Evacuation center at Silver Dollar Fairgrounds

5:15 p.m.

An evacuation center has been established for Oroville residents 
at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico, according to the 
National Weather Service. The address is 2357 Fair St.

Butte County sheriff: “This is NOT A Drill.”

5 p.m.

The Butte County Sheriff’ Office released the following 
statement on Facebook:

This is an evacuation order.

Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas 
downstream is ordered.

A hazardous situation is developing with the Oroville Dam 
auxiliary spillway. Operation of the auxiliary spillway has lead 
to severe erosion that could 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. In 
response to this developing situation, DWR is increasing water 
releases to 100,000 cubic feet per second.

Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas 
downstream is ordered.

This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill.

Chris Orrock, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, 
told The Bee the failure happened as the bottom of the emergency 
spillway began to erode.

“It happened quickly,” he said.

Sutter County also put out an alert on Facebook:

We have received information about the potential for increased 
flows in the Feather River of as much as 100,000 cubic feet per 
second. We are gathering as much information as possible and 
will be providing additional information as soon as it is 
verified.

Officials warn of “imminent failure” at Oroville Dam’s emergency 
spillway

4:45 p.m.

Officials are warning those living downstream of Lake Oroville’s 
dam to evacuate because of a risk that the dam’s emergency 
spillway could collapse.

“They have what they expect to be an imminent failure of the 
axillary spillway,” said Mike Smith, a spokesman for the 
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “What 
they’re expecting is as much as 30 vertical feet of the top of 
the spillway could fail and could fail within one to two hours. 
We don’t know how much water that means, but we do know that’s 
potentially 30 feet of depth of Lake Oroville.”

The Department of Water Resources, which operates the dam, said 
in a 4:42 p.m. Twitter post that the emergency spillway could 
fail within the next hour.

“Oroville residents evacuate northward,” the Tweet said.

Ryan Sabalow: 916-321-1264, @ryansabalow. The Bee’s Ellen 
Garrison, Tony Bizjak and Jessica Hice contributed.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-
drought/article132332499.html

Mobilize those valuable illegal aliens.  Have them show their 
allegiance and go plug the holes.

--
More than a decade ago, federal and state officials and some of 
California’s largest water agencies rejected concerns that the 
massive earthen spillway at Oroville Dam — at risk of collapse 
Sunday night and prompting the evacuation of 185,000 people — 
could erode during heavy winter rains and cause a catastrophe.

Those agencies included the Metropolitan Water District of 
Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people 
in Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas, along with the State 
Water Contractors, an association of 27 agencies that buy water 
from the state of California through the State Water Project. 
The association includes the Metropolitan Water District, Kern 
County Water Agency, the Santa Clara Valley Water District and 
the Alameda County Water District.
 

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BREAKING: Threat of Oroville spillway collapse prompts evacuation of Marysville, Yuba, Butte and Sutter counties "But But Sanctuary Cities! Disaster Declaration! Federal Funds! FEMA! Trump!" <morons@sfchronicle.com> - 2017-02-14 06:58 +0100

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