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No return home in sight for thousands of
Californians sheltering from dam
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 [February 14, 2017]
By Deborah M. Todd and Sharon Bernstein
OROVILLE, Calif. (Reuters) - Tens of
thousands of Californians faced an indefinite stay in shelters as
engineers worked for a second day on Tuesday to fix the United States'
tallest dam before more storms sweep the region.
After what looks set to be the wettest winter in Northern California
following years of drought, more rain was forecast for as early as
Wednesday and through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Crews were working to shore up an overflow channel and drain the
reservoir at the Lake Oroville Dam but authorities gave no indication of
when it would be safe for people to go home.
Late on Sunday, about 188,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their
homes in the Feather River valley below the dam, 65 miles (105 km) north
of Sacramento.
Authorities say they had averted the immediate danger of a catastrophic
failure at the dam that could unleash a wall of water three stories tall
on towns below.
“We're doing everything we can to get this dam in shape that they can
return and they can live safely without fear. It’s very difficult,"
California Governor Jerry Brown told reporters during a news conference
on Monday evening.
On Monday, Brown sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump asking him
to issue an emergency declaration, which would open up federal
assistance for the affected communities, after an emergency overflow
channel appeared on the brink of collapse.
Yolanda Davila, 62, of Thermalito, ended up at the Silver Dollar
Fairgrounds in Chico, one of only five in the area taking people with
pets. She left home without medicine and dog food in the rush to find
shelter before the evacuation deadline.
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A helicopter takes off with a load of rocks to haul to the Lake
Oroville Dam after an evacuation was ordered for communities
downstream from the dam in Oroville, California, U.S. February 13,
2017. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
She said that areas such as Sacramento had been issued flood
warnings earlier in the week and that authorities should have warned
residents near Oroville much sooner.
"We didn't have a plan, all we knew is to head north toward Chico,"
Davila said. "If I knew we had to get out earlier I would have went
to the Bay Area."
The earth-filled dam is just upstream and east of Oroville, a town
of about 16,000 people. At 770 feet (230 meters) high, the
structure, built between 1962 and 1968, it is more than 40 feet
taller than the Hoover Dam.
On Monday afternoon, crews dropped large bags filled with rocks into
a gap at the top of the emergency spillway to rebuild the eroded
hillside.
The main spillway, a separate channel, is also damaged because part
of its concrete lining fell apart last week. Both spillways are to
the side of the dam itself, which has not been compromised,
engineers said.
(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by
Louise Ireland)
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