Looking at the water coming over the spillway and that can’t be good.
Looks like it could erode the base of the damn at some point.
Prayers that it holds and everyone is safe...
The base of the dam is safe. The problem is that the emergency spillway, used for the first time, is earthen fill. It was eroding the earth, and the danger was that the erosion was working its way towards the main spillway. The main spillway is already damaged with a football stadium size hole, spilling water in the other direction. If the emergency spillway eroded into the main spillway, the whole main spillway would be undermined and go, concrete and all, both spillways would then erode all the earthen fill letting loose unknown amounts of water. As long as they keep the emergency spillway from eroding towards the main spillway, the dam is safe. Unfortunately, the emergency spillway has the potential of collapsing a 30-foot tall section, which would unleash a 30-foot high wall of water from the lake.
My daughter was staying overnight near the area, she drove through there this afternoon on the way back to SF and said traffic was a nightmare. I'm just glad she got out of there.