[Mariner]

They can't let anyone go back home until they are certain the water will not reach the emergency spillway and flow over.

It is simply not possible to repair a structure this massive in a few days.

And they cannot be certain until June at the earliest.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Sounds awful. Might mean that some should not return.

[JRios1968]

And, just over a year ago, they were complaining about Lake Oroville being too low...

[jennychase]

This is a ploy to get Federal assistance.

[Wneighbor]

If ever there were a physical picture for 1st graders of why Rats should not run the country, this is it. Big. Bold. Picture.

[Doogle]

...any reports of looters?

[Lady Heron]

They can not let anyone back in until they are sure there are no breaches weakening the dam.

This dam was very dry for a long time. Think about ground that has gotten dry....it cracks. In a dam that fills up rapidly after a drought it is very, very dangerous because water rushes into those cracks and creates holes, on top of that this dam broke the spillway causing craters on the other side and erosion then went over the emergency spillway eroding the dam from there also. Both sides might be compromised not just one.

This dam could have leaks going through it and it is still to wet to see. If in the days ahead those leaks get bigger and break.....if you let people back in below the dam....well you get the picture. They need months of dry weather to fix this situation and they are going to get more rain.

[Mariner]

180,000 people evacuated with no notice and no prospect of return is Front Page news.

[CIB-173RDABN]

The danger was the uncontrolled overflow. That has stopped. The dam itself is in no danger of failing.

I see no reason to keep the people away from their homes.

When the water begins rising again, then perhaps another (more orderly) evacuation could begin.

[RayChuang88]

The fear is that up to seven million may have to be evacuated because if the auxiliary spillway at Oroville bursts, we may be talking flooding all the way down to San Pablo Bay! :-O

[trebb]

Sucks big time for the residents that were betrayed by their "leaders" - having gone through Katrina, I know how they feel even if their homes haven't been destroyed....yet.

Praying for a good outcome for them.

[Grampa Dave]

Besides Lake Oroville and over 50% of California's dams being in critical shape re lack of repair.

Many of our high travel roads are in very bad shape. Rte 37 from I80 east in Vallejo to 101 in Marin county is a prime example.

Highway 37 in Novato at Highway 101 has been closed for about three weeks this winter because of flooding.

Persistently swamped Highway 37 — historically a sore spot for motorists — is rapidly becoming one of the Bay Area’s most pressing issues as heavy storms keep rolling through this winter, forcing repeated closures of a crucial transportation link.

The peculiar highway, which looks more like a rural farm road in places, connects the North Bay to the East Bay by cutting through wetlands and hay fields along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay. Wine Country day-trippers use it, as do drivers headed to Sonoma Raceway and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.

The increasingly popular artery, which was shut down for much of last week, has been closed for about three weeks this winter because of flooding.

Excerpt : Go to the link below for full story: http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/In-demand-but-increasingly-swamped-Highway-37-10927495.php

[hauerf]

We COULD fix Oroville dam and others that are in bad shape, but at this time we NEED the money to build Jerry Brown’s “high speed” rail line that will sooner or later run from somewhere you never heard of to somewhere else you never heard of. Trust me, this not especially speedy “high speed” rail will be so amazingly fantastic that, despite its non-existent ridership, everyone will soon forget about any huge disasters that occur because a few unmaintained dams crumble when they get full.

[SparkyBass]

My friends who are in the danger zone: wife has evacuated with valuables. husband knows what will happen if they leave the ranch/farm completely uninhabited. He has stayed behind, armed.

There are a lot of folks there who will NOT leave their property completely unprotected. I pity the fools who think they’ll take advantage of supposed unoccupied homes.

[abigkahuna]

I am hearing from reliable sources that it will be next Monday at the earliest. Other sources in the grocery line at the little market near the dam where thousands of us are still around...word is two weeks. It is going to be a huge issue here shortly. Called the sheriffs department to allow delivery trucks to the remaining market in the area. It was popping and a happening. We are all in good cheer and everyone polite.