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Emergency: California’s Oroville Dam Spillway Near Failure, Evacuations Ordered
Breitbart ^ | Feb 12, 2017 | Joel B. Pollak1

Posted on 02/12/2017 4:26:47 PM PST by janetjanet998

Edited on 02/12/2017 9:33:58 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

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.


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: butte; california; dam; dwr; evacuation; lakeoroville; liveoroville; moonbeamcanyon; moonbeammadness; oroville; orovilledam; orovillelive; runaway; spillway; sutter; water; yuba
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To: Advil000

There were two hours of very low inflow, and it’s back to about 33,000 now. https://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?ORO

Not sure what that was about. Maybe did a little tweaking up-river?


461 posted on 02/12/2017 11:29:29 PM PST by ArmstedFragg (So Long Obie)
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To: Califreak
Maybe there will be some miracle and rain won’t finish off the whole dam.

The "whole dam" has never been the least bit threatened. The adjacent spillways and hillside have been damaged and are deteriorating. The main spillway, which is/was concrete is pretty much a write off in the mid section.

462 posted on 02/12/2017 11:34:32 PM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: RegulatorCountry; steve86

Maybe I should quit lurking on that prepper forum...

I do hope and pray it will be okay.


463 posted on 02/12/2017 11:39:12 PM PST by Califreak (All Alinsky All The Time)
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To: Califreak

Preppers can be like gold bugs and short sellers, they love to scare themselves with wild hair on fire tales because it proves themselves right. That doesn’t mean that prepping is wrong, or that buying precious metals is bad or that shorting a stock is wrongheaded. It’s not. But, take them with a grain of salt. Their bias is toward worst case. Worst case is rarely the reality.


464 posted on 02/12/2017 11:43:57 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: Califreak
Interesting photos of the hole in the main spillway, when it first started. Notice how shallow the slope of the spillway is. Some people think it is real steep, due to looking at head-on photos, when it is actually a gentle slope.


465 posted on 02/12/2017 11:44:43 PM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: steve86

I’m surprised that the soil looks so red there, almost like southeastern red clay.


466 posted on 02/12/2017 11:50:10 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry
Inundation map

Hurry, everyone run to the top of that butte! (noticed butte on Google Earth earlier)

467 posted on 02/12/2017 11:59:49 PM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: steve86

I’m not familiar with the area and don’t see the legend indicating flood depth by color code, and I don’t see the towns affected other than Oroville. Is that butte developed or is it largely inaccessible to vehicular traffic? Evacuees appear to be leaving the area entirely.


468 posted on 02/13/2017 12:02:46 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: steve86
Measuring on Google Earth, the main spillway appears to be 170 feet wide and about 3,200 feet long. Elevation gain about 600' like the dam proper.

The emergency spillway looks to be 880' wide, to the corner of the parking lot. I heard widely different figures on the newscast earlier but these are actual measured on the GE image.

469 posted on 02/13/2017 12:04:59 AM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: RegulatorCountry

All I know is that the peak on the butte is 1600’ while the surrounding farmland is 100’ MSL. The level of the lake behind the dam is 1000’.


470 posted on 02/13/2017 12:08:57 AM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: PghBaldy

I appreciate you posting this. It shows that these are kindred spirits.


471 posted on 02/13/2017 12:20:23 AM PST by EliRoom8
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To: txhurl

>>130K residents getting 3hrs evac notice? That is ... crazy.<<
Could you elaborate on this?


472 posted on 02/13/2017 12:23:26 AM PST by EliRoom8
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To: steve86

Make that 2100’ where there is a big communications tower. Road to the top looks paved but I’m guessing it is closed to the public. Lots of high enough terrain around Oroville, though; you only have to get up a couple hundred feet to be completely safe from flooding.


473 posted on 02/13/2017 12:24:50 AM PST by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: RegulatorCountry

Well, the whole downtown of Oroville would be underwater once the raging waters crest the levees. It’s happened before. Flooding, not dam failures, that is.

We are amongst the 20 percent or so that did not evacuate. We are level with the Dam do see no problem for us. No traffic allowed into the area. That will create a bit of a problem for those of us that need to go shopping at local grocery stores. There are many of us left, mostly in the county area in proximity of the dam that aren’t affected. Traffic down our little country road was full bore mad max there for a few hours. Never heard it like that. We wonder where the folks thought they were going?

We knew than many non-natives of our area were on the road as they would turn down and road not knowing that it dead ended five miles down the road.

Anyone remember the movie Panic in the Year Zero? It was like that.


474 posted on 02/13/2017 12:33:42 AM PST by abigkahuna (How can you be at two places at once when you are nowhere at all?)
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To: steve86

Excellent info — keep posting often.


475 posted on 02/13/2017 12:51:44 AM PST by EliRoom8
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To: abigkahuna

Are you dependent upon any utilities coming out of downtown Oroville? They may be disrupted. Get together with your neighbors and see who might need what so you’ll be prepared, sounds as if you’ll be stuck until the flood water recedes and roads are cleared/repaired, assuming there will be flooding. Could be a couple of weeks.


476 posted on 02/13/2017 12:59:41 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry

Ha!

I like to brace myself for the worst and hope for the best.

It really cuts down on the disappointment factor.


477 posted on 02/13/2017 1:01:24 AM PST by Califreak (All Alinsky All The Time)
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To: steve86

Yes, it does look very steep.


478 posted on 02/13/2017 1:02:28 AM PST by Califreak (All Alinsky All The Time)
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To: Califreak

Envisioning Katrina all over again could lead to fatalism. It looks like this is largely an agricultural area in a Trump county. Katrina actually did far more damage in neighboring Mississippi, but you didn’t hear the endless tales of woe because they just picked up the pieces and went to work repairing the damage. If it turns out to be necessary, determine to do the same.


479 posted on 02/13/2017 1:06:59 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry

Yes, Trump country will handle things differently than a democrat district packed with gibsmedats and dindus.

It’s our democrat government that will foul it all up.


480 posted on 02/13/2017 1:10:19 AM PST by Califreak (All Alinsky All The Time)
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