Major Dam in NorCal Collapses - Thousands Evacuated

[jimboa24]

This is happening in my stomping grounds. I know most of you have never heard of Oroville, but its nearby dam is pretty vital to the water reallocation system that provides water to southern and central California. This is an important dam, and its failure may have some dire consequences if you live south of Chico in California. Lots of people in Oroville, Butte and Yuba county are evacuating.

Needless to say, California's been getting absolutely hammered with rain as nature makes up for a prolonged drought with a vengeance.

Source

Update at 6 p.m.

Roads leading out of Oroville are becoming jammed with traffic as people evacuate the area due to the possibility of failure of the alternate spillway at Oroville Dam.

The evacuation order was extended to include Marysville and Yuba Counties around 5:45 p.m., according to Caltrans.

State route 70 northbound, which runs past Oroville, was jammed as of 5:45 p.m. So was Highway 99, an alternate north-south route eight 10 miles to the east. And so was state route 162 heading east, away from the Feather River, and many of the surface streets nearby, according to satellite feeds from Google Maps.

Highway 49 in Nevada County had been turned into one-way traffic, according to Caltrans.

Original story:

Local and state officials have ordered residents of Oroville and other towns below the Oroville Dam to evacuate, saying a failure of the dam’s emergency spillway is imminent.

“A hazardous situation is developing with the Oroville Dam auxiliary spillway,” authorities with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in an urgent release Sunday afternoon. “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,” the statement continues, noting “This is NOT a drill.”

California Department of Water Resources officials had decided to use the earthen emergency spillway to take pressure off the regular concrete spillway, which developed a giant crater last week.

That crater has been growing daily.

The emergency spillway suffered erosion and could fail, according to DWR. If that happens, the water behind that barrier will come down the hill and down the river.

Flow through the broken main spillway was increased to 100,000 cubic feet per second in an effort to lower the water level in the lake more rapidly.

The evacuation order, which was also posted at the Butte County Sheriff’s Office Facebook Page, does not specify which areas of Oroville should be evacuated, simply that those in “low level” locations must flee.

Here's a live feed if you're clicking on this post just now:

[Mihalik]

Needless to say, California's been getting absolutely hammered with rain as nature makes up for a prolonged drought with a vengeance.

Unfortunately the current spike in rainfall is not a reversal of an established trend of decreasing amounts of rainfall for an already dry region. The problem is further compounded by rising average temperatures and seasonal heat waves.

As unfortunate and bad as this flooding is, this will not actually solve the drought issue, if anything it is making it worse.

[Guy4123]

All the Indians where I work pretty much left as soon as they got here to go pack up their stuff and evacuate since they all live in Yuba City. It's apparently the tallest dam in the US.

[Allybeboba]

Probably caused by Global Warming. Or is it climate change? I forget which it is called now.

Or it could even be HAARP.

Either way, fingers will be pointed in someone else's direction other than their own.

[Theinquisition]

Waiting for POSPOSPOS or Espy to blame conservatives somehow

infracted - minor spam

[Zan15]

umm it has not collapsed.

[Mad_Murdock]

Either way, fingers will be pointed in someone else's direction other than their own.

Get with the times man. All finger pointing goes to Trump!

[Spiffums]

Maybe if California had spend all the money that they spent on illegal aliens on fixing their infrastructure when water levels were down they wouldn't have this problem now.

[ge0]

Unfortunately the current spike in rainfall is not a reversal of an established trend of decreasing amounts of rainfall for an already dry region. The problem is further compounded by rising average temperatures and seasonal heat waves.

As unfortunate and bad as this flooding is, this will not actually solve the drought issue, if anything it is making it worse.

How will flooding make the drought 'worse'?

[Allybeboba]

Get with the times man. All finger pointing goes to Trump!

Just the liberal fingers.

[Sunseeker]

How will flooding make the drought 'worse'?

Floodwaters don't get absorbed by the ground and filter into the underground waterways like normal rainfall does. Flooding also washes away topsoil that has become loosened due to reduced rainfall. Plus there is of course the risk of destruction of dams, which currently provide much of California with its water at a more regulated pace than mother nature currently is.

[Worgar]

luckily my buddy's weed farm is up in the foothills to the north of the dam

[Independent voter]

It's where Los Angeles gets a lot of it's drinking water from, if memory serves.

[Tierbook]

It's where Los Angeles gets a lot of it's drinking water from, if memory serves.

Really? San Francisco I'd believe but this dam is way up north in California about on level with Reno Nevada

[Allybeboba]

It's where Los Angeles gets a lot of it's drinking water from, if memory serves.

I thought it came from the Hoover Damn(Lake Mead) and the Colorado River aqueduct. Not that I know, I live in Houston. Took a tour of Hoover Damn a long time ago.

[Octa]

I think I saw a story on this last night where they said "they don't yet expect major flooding down river". I know there was probably no way to know the thing was going to fucking collapse but man, that was a wrong prediction lol

[Independent voter]

Really? San Francisco I'd believe but this dam is way up north in California about on level with Reno Nevada

If you every seen Chinatown with Jack Nicholson it's about Oro Valley water for Los Angeles. LA is a desert town and it wouldn't even exist if it didn't get water from Oro Valley. It's the movie where the bad guy sticks a knife in Jack Nicholson's nose yanks and slices his nose. Pretty good movie.

These days LA gets water from the Colorado and some from desalination plants, but a big chunk still comes from Oro Valley.

[Allybeboba]

I think I saw a story on this last night where they said "they don't yet expect major flooding down river". I know there was probably no way to know the thing was going to fucking collapse but man, that was a wrong prediction lol

The news is great a fear mongering. They excel at it.

[Wyrt]

I think I saw a story on this last night where they said "they don't yet expect major flooding down river". I know there was probably no way to know the thing was going to fucking collapse but man, that was a wrong prediction lol

They're evacuating everyone directly south of it. It's a long river though. I am technically down river from it down here in Sacramento, but the dam is some 75 miles north of here.

- - - Updated - - -

Really? San Francisco I'd believe but this dam is way up north in California about on level with Reno Nevada

San Francisco probably gets water from Sacramento.

[Allybeboba]

If you every seen Chinatown with Jack Nicholson it's about Oro Valley water for Los Angeles. LA is a desert town and it wouldn't even exist if it didn't get water from Oro Valley. It's the movie where the bad guy sticks a knife in Jack Nicholson's nose yanks and slices his nose. Pretty good movie.

These days LA gets water from the Colorado and some from desalination plants, but a big chunk still comes from Oro Valley.

Not that I don't believe you, since you obviously know more about the subject than I do. But I would never base my facts on a Hollywood movie even if it was good.