More Than 130K Ordered To Evacuate Due To Likely Collapse Of Oroville Dam Spillway

LOVE THAT.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING KCAL9
NEWS AT 8:00, KCAL9 NEWS AT 9:00
STARTS RIGHT NOW.
ANNOUNCER: THIS IS KCAL 9 NEWS
AT 9.
BREAKING NEWS IN NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA, TONIGHT TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF FORCED TO EVACUATE
TONIGHT DUE TO CONCERNS THAT
OROVILLE DAM'S EMERGENCY SPILL
WAY TO FAIL.
I AM ELSA RAMON, WITH AN
EMERGENCY IN OROVILLE, MANY IN
THE CITY OF 15 THOUSAND ORDERED
TO GET TO HIGH GROUND BECAUSE
THE DAM IS IN DANGER OF
RELEASING UNCONTROLLED FLOOD
WATER, THE TALLEST DAM IN THE
NATION, OVER 700 FEET TALL.
EMERGENCY SPILL WAY OF ACTIVATED
YESTERDAY MORNING THERE A SIGNS
THAT THE SPILL WAY WILL SOON
FAIL, DUMPING LAKEROVILLE INTO
THE CITY OF OROVILLE DOWNSTREAM.
CRISTY FAJARDO IS LIVE ON A
FRIGHTENING NIGHT FOR THOUSANDS.
REPORTER: IT IS.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COULD
NOT HAVE BEEN MORE BLUNT.
SAYING THIS IS NOTE A DRILL,
TELLING 130,000 PEOPLE, LOW
LYING AREAS IN MULTIPLE CITIES
TO GET OUT.
THIS IS THE CONCERN, MASSIVE
AIMS OF WATER ARE POURING OVER
THE SPILL WAY, AT LAKE --
LAKEROVILLE.
THE WATER IS SPILLING OVER THE
WALL.
A BIG CRATER FORMED ON THE
PRIMARY SPILL WAY, IT COULD NOT
TAKE ALL OF THE WEAR AND TEAR
FROM RECENT RAINS
NOTHING WOULD BE ABLE TO STOP
THE WATER FROM FLOODING
COMMUNITIES.
DEPUTIES MOVED IN TELLING
EVERYONE IN CLEAR OUT.
THEY INITIALLY EXPECTED IT TO
GIVE WAY JUST B BEFORE 6 P.M., BUT
SAY THAT THE EROSION HAS SLOWED.
THERE ARE TRAFFIC JAMS ON
NORMALLY RURAL ROADS, AS PEOPLE
PACK UP AND HEAD OUT.
I LIVE IN OROVILLE.
WHAT ARE YOUR INITIAL
REACTION.
TO GET MY WIFE AND GET TO OUT
OF THERE.
WHAT IS YOUR CONCERN?
BEING FLOODED WE'RE A FISH
BOWL.
REPORTER: THIS IS SCENE IN BEAUT
COUNTY, INMATES ARE SHIPPED OUT
OF BEAUT -- BUTTE COUNTY SHALE,
ENGINEERS ARE USING CONSTRUCT
HELICOPTER TO MOVE LARGE ROCKS
TO TRY TO PLUG THE HOLES,
AUTHORITIES ARE TRYING TO
RELEASE AS MUCH WATER AS
POSSIBLE TO RELIEVE PRESSURE.
IT STILL A PRECARIOUS SITUATION
WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE
OROVILLE DAM.
BACK TO YOU.
ELSA: ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU.
JOINING US BY PHONE CHRIS
ORAK WITH CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT
OF WATER RESOURCES, THANK YOU
FOR JOINING US AGAIN.
HAS ANYTHING THINKED IN THE --
CHANGED IN THE PAST HOUR, ARE
PEOPLE STILL EVACUATING.
THANK YOU, THE SITUATION HAS
STABILIZED WE HAVE NO FURTHER
REPORTS OF EROSION, WE'RE
CONTINUING TO MOVE WATER OUT OF
THE RESERVOIR, WE'LL HAVE THE
MANDATORY EVACUATION IN PLACE,
AND WE'LL CONTINUE THAT UNTIL
WE'RE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS
SAFE.
THAT PEOPLE ARE SAFE TO RETURN
HOME.
ELSA: DOES IT MEAN RIGHT NOW
THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE LEAVING, WHO
ARE UNDER THE MANDATORY
EVACUATION ORDER DO NOT HAVE A
DETINDEFINITIVE TIME WHEN THEY CAN
RETURN HOME?
NO.
AND WILL YOU KNOW, MADE IT
HARDER TO CONTINUE TO EVALUATE
THE LOCATION OF THIS EROSION.
WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THE
COMMUNITY WAS SAFE.
SO, IT IS BETTER TO SIDE ON --
ERROR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION,
AND KEEP THE PEOPLE SAFE OVER
THE LONG-TERM.
ELSA: I KNOW YOU SAID MOTHER
NATURE HAS BEEN TOUGH ON YOU UP
THERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
IT HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE
PROBLEM.
YOU WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR AT
8:00, THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT
WHERE THE DAM, CAN YOU EXPLAIN
HOW THE TWO SPILL WAYS ARE NOW
TURNING THIS INTO A BIG
EMERGENCY SITUATION.
THE OUR PRIMARY SPILL WAY WAS
CEMENT LINE SPILL WAY WE HAD THE
EROSION BACK ON TUESDAY.
THIS IS OVER AS YOU LOOK AT THE
DAM FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF
THE RESERVOIR TO THE LEFT SIDE,
IT NOT CONNECT INNED DAM,
EMERGENCY SPILL WAY
LEFT, OF THE GATED SPILL WAY, IT
IS
SEVERE EROSION WE HAD WAS IN
EMERGENCY SPILL WAY UNLINED
AREA, WHICH IS BASICALLY A
HILLSIDE, THE HOLE THAT WAS
DEVELOPED IS NOT AT THE DAM.
ELSA: I KNOW YESTERDAY WE WERE
STALKING ABOUT THE GROWING
POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH THE
SPILLWAY, BUT WHAT CHANGED IN
THE LAST 24 HOURS.
YESTERDAY THEY WERE TOLD IT WAS
BEING TAKEN CARE OF, ASK TODAY AND TOWARD
THEY WERE TOLD THERE ARE
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS.
WHEN WE HAVE HEAVY RAIN.
AND AS ALL YOUR VIEWERS KNOW
AFTER 6 YEARS OF DROUGHT IN
CALIFORNIA THIS IS OUR WETTEST
WINTER TO RECORD, YOUR RAIN
TOTAL HASEK SEEDED ALL --
EXCEEDED REASON TOTAL FOR ALL OF
LAST YEAR ALREADY.
REMAINTAIN A LEVEL OF STORAGE IN
LAKE OROVILLE, TO HAVE FLOOD
CONTROL.
AS THE LEVELS INCREASE, WE LET
OUT, UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE
EROSION WE HAD ON THE MAIN
SPILLWAY, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO
TAKE ENOUGH WATER OUT OF THE
LAKE TO KEEP UP WITH THE INFLOW.
THAT IS WHY EMERGENCY SPILLWAY
WAS ACTIVATED, IT IS LIKE AN
INFINITY POOL, IT GETS TO 901
FEET OF LAKE LEVEL IT
AUTOMATICALLY FLOWS DOWN AN
UNLINED UNREGULATED HILLSIDE.
THAT WATER THE FORCE OF THAT
WATER CREATED A HOLE, THAT
STARTED WORKING BACK TODAY THE
RESERVOIRED.
-- RESERVOIR, AND IF WE HAD BEEN
ABLE TO MOVE WATER OUT ON THE
REGULAR BASIS, IF WE DID NOT
HAVE THE PROBLEM WITH MAIN
SPILLWAY IT WOULD NOT HAVE KNOW
AN ISSUE.
BUT, A COUPLE OF OCCURRENCES OF
DIFFERENT TYPES OF EROSION THAT
HAPPENED THAT LED TO THE ISSUE
OF EVACUATING OUT OF PRECAUTION,
THIS SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH
CHRIS, WITH CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RE SOURCES
FOR BEING WITH US, I KNOW YOU

More Than 130K Ordered To Evacuate Due To Likely Collapse Of Oroville Dam Spillway

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