Emergency: California’s Oroville Dam Spillway Near Failure, Evacuations Ordered

Breitbart ^ | Feb 12, 2017 | Joel B. Pollak1

[janetjanet998]

The California Department of Water Resources issued a sudden evacuation order shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday for residents near the Oroville Dam in northern California, warning that the dam’s emergency spillway would fail in the next 60 minutes.

The Oroville Dam is the highest in the nation.

[maggief]

Scanner: Crews ordered off the spill way as they will begin cutting wires in 40 minutes.

??

[Ray76]

River gauges observations and forecast.

Trending lower

Source: http://water.weather.gov/ahps/forecasts.php

[pax_et_bonum]

Checking in.

Thanks so much, maggie, for updates.

[maggief]

[leakinInTheBlueSea]

The erosion on the left side of the spillway was pretty close to the power lines... are they worried that the ground is not stable there? Bad news if so.

[maggief]

Don’t know.

Scanner confirming everyone is off the slope.

[meyer]

PG&E was planning on moving a couple of towers near the base of the spillway, near the river, where erosion has threatened a tower. To the best of my knowledge, those lines were cut and a section removed so that they could do their work and so that the wires were not in the way of other efforts that are or will take place near there.

The very last images I saw of the towers going to the switchyard at the dam showed all the wires intact. The two towers at the left of the spillway might be threatened, but I think that they are stable for now. Maybe they’re planning on moving those also, to safer ground. If they take those wires down, the plant will not be able to generate period.

Of course, it’s not able to generate now due to damming and water issues where the output channel from the dam runs into the debris piled up by the spilling process.

I wish I could see some real-time video.

[tomkat]

No, scratch that !

Sorry !

[maggief]

Scanner:

60% of flow going down left side of spillway. 90% flow with brown material

[tomkat]

This guy has done good vid posts the past few days.

This is a short one from 0500 local this morning of the rain coming down right there at the dam.

Again, sorry about the bad link above .. have asked Mods to nuke it   :-\

[Yaelle]

Wow.

Here in SoCal it is freaking POURING. Just heard thunder. The ground is overwhelmed, bet there is a lot of flooding on streets. Two ducks have sought refuge in our pool.

[tomkat]

Guess the link would help, ehh .. sheez, need more coffee, stat !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NJYyUKb0mA

[mad_as_he$$]

It has been snowing here in Reno since 8am. Very little accumulation until about an hour ago, then it started sticking fast. I am at 5,011 feet. The West slope is warmer so I expect at the dam it is rain, but the Middle Fork of the Feather much higher so probably snow.

[meyer]

News Conference. About 30 minutes long...
https://www.facebook.com/CADWR/videos/10154447924387449/

[maggief]

https://twitter.com/JodiHernandezTV/status/832674181787430913

News Reporter for NBC Bay Area, East Bay Native, Mom & Small Biz Owner

Jodi HernandezVerified account
@JodiHernandezTV

Lots of eyes on #OrovilleSpillway this morning as rain falls. A new stream of muddy water now flowing down the side. Press update at noon.

[tomkat]

For anyone who mightn't have noticed it the past day or two, a big chunk of that left sidewall has gone walkabout.

Easily seen on the right in that second pic.

[Yaelle]

I don’t know
Which is scarier. This overflowing dam or how
Stupid the CA leadership
Is, that we have let enough good water flow
To
The sea that could
Have satisfied our needs and watered our crops for a very long time. Leftists can’t run anything. They have no
Wisdom
By definition.

[tomkat]

Thanks.

[maggief]

Scanner: Copter inbound to cut power lines