california dam might collapse

[Grizz]

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/califo ... 32499.html

anyone south of the dam should get north of it, just in case

prayers up for everyone affected, trying to escape, and those downstream. sounds grim to me.

[HawkCreek]

I dont have much use for California in general but I sure hope nobody gets hurt or worse in all that mess.

Somebody really screwed the pooch when it came to preventative maintenance on that dam. Not sure that the spillway going 100% from the get go would have been enough but keeping it slowed down due to the damage it had is costing them now.

Anybody know if the dam's downstream can handle all that water if the Oroville dam goes?

[JerryB]

We have been keeping up with it tonite. Will be praying for the people I that area. Any of our levergunners around there??

[HawkCreek]

Reports are the water level is now below the emergency spillway so they've started beginning to pour riprap into the danger areas. Hopefully they can get ahead of the storms they are supposed to get Wednesday and everything is ok.

The thing that sticks out is the news is still reporting the roads are bumper to bumper cars trying to evacuate but the evacuation order came in somewhere between 6 and 7 this evening with it saying they expected the e-spillway to fail within the hour. That means they figured it would be gone by 8:00pm and here 2 and a half hours later people are still on the road. Seems like people have been cutting it real close since this whole thing began.

[FWiedner]

I hope that there is no unnecessary loss of life and that a disaster can be avoided.

In any case, they keep enough Mexicans to clean up and rebuild, if needs be.

[Buck Elliott]

A good friend moved from Cody back to Oroville last summer.. She packed up and was ready to leave this evening. Stores have NO water and little food left, as area residents prepare to evacuate..

[GunnyMack]

I heard they sent crews out last week to clean up along the river so IF the dam let go the water wouldn't take dead trees down stream. I guess they don't realize that if the dam breaks those dead trees aren't going to mean a thing!
I hope no one is hurt, homes can be rebuilt.
One more reason to live on high ground I guess...

[Grizz]

the morning news says that around 200000 people fled they're in a tough situation.

california has some history with unsafe dams. there is something wrong with a spillway that is untrustworthy

it's farm country below the canyon, hwy 99 could be inundated

anyone remember the great flood in the late 50s? Water level was up to the underside of the causeway on I-80, cows floating around with their hooves skyward. Dad drove through it all for thanksgiving dinner with family in Grass Valley. hope that doesn't happen again.

someone pointed out it pays to live on high ground, but farms are normally found in flood plains. the only plus is free topsoil, but the cost is high.

[Old Ironsights]

Interesting tidbit I heard this morning:

After a YEAR of "mandatory water conservation" for drout, the ENTIRE amount of water saved by Californians went over that spillway on .05 seconds.

[jeepnik]

Reports are the water level is now below the emergency spillway so they've started beginning to pour riprap into the danger areas. Hopefully they can get ahead of the storms they are supposed to get Wednesday and everything is ok.

The thing that sticks out is the news is still reporting the roads are bumper to bumper cars trying to evacuate but the evacuation order came in somewhere between 6 and 7 this evening with it saying they expected the e-spillway to fail within the hour. That means they figured it would be gone by 8:00pm and here 2 and a half hours later people are still on the road. Seems like people have been cutting it real close since this whole thing began.

Not really, it's just that the roads in that area aren't designed to handle that level of traffic. Add to that short tempers and fear and you end up with a scene from one of my favorite movies, Panic in the Year Zero.

My little sis used to live in a nearby town, but it is up hill from the dam. Oh, and if it lets go, ain't nothing going to stop that much water.

[HawkCreek]

Reports are the water level is now below the emergency spillway so they've started beginning to pour riprap into the danger areas. Hopefully they can get ahead of the storms they are supposed to get Wednesday and everything is ok.

The thing that sticks out is the news is still reporting the roads are bumper to bumper cars trying to evacuate but the evacuation order came in somewhere between 6 and 7 this evening with it saying they expected the e-spillway to fail within the hour. That means they figured it would be gone by 8:00pm and here 2 and a half hours later people are still on the road. Seems like people have been cutting it real close since this whole thing began.

Not really, it's just that the roads in that area aren't designed to handle that level of traffic. Add to that short tempers and fear and you end up with a scene from one of my favorite movies, Panic in the Year Zero.

My little sis used to live in a nearby town, but it is up hill from the dam. Oh, and if it lets go, ain't nothing going to stop that much water.

Thats what I'm saying. They know what the local infrastructure can handle and calling an evacuation with less than an hour to spare is getting dangerous. As I understand it the sheriff made that call based off of info the people monitoring the spillway were giving him.

[jeepnik]

Reports are the water level is now below the emergency spillway so they've started beginning to pour riprap into the danger areas. Hopefully they can get ahead of the storms they are supposed to get Wednesday and everything is ok.

The thing that sticks out is the news is still reporting the roads are bumper to bumper cars trying to evacuate but the evacuation order came in somewhere between 6 and 7 this evening with it saying they expected the e-spillway to fail within the hour. That means they figured it would be gone by 8:00pm and here 2 and a half hours later people are still on the road. Seems like people have been cutting it real close since this whole thing began.

Not really, it's just that the roads in that area aren't designed to handle that level of traffic. Add to that short tempers and fear and you end up with a scene from one of my favorite movies, Panic in the Year Zero.

My little sis used to live in a nearby town, but it is up hill from the dam. Oh, and if it lets go, ain't nothing going to stop that much water.

Thats what I'm saying. They know what the local infrastructure can handle and calling an evacuation with less than an hour to spare is getting dangerous. As I understand it the sheriff made that call based off of info the people monitoring the spillway were giving him.

The sheriff is one of the good ones. They actually have a plan for this sort of thing. But, it seems he was stonewalled by some of the bureaucrats in charge of the dam. Seems they may not have wanted to admit things were as bad as they were. Basically they were in cya mode.

[Rusty]

It sounds like the Sheriff needs to put the bureaucrats in a really small cell until the investigation is complete.
I heard they haven't had a permanent permit for the dam for the last 10 years. They keep operating on a 1 year temporary permit. In the areas that have been evacuated they have has mass burglaries.

[HawkCreek]

News says the water level behind the dam is down to 887'. So they allowed residents to return home, not sure if that means the whole evacuation is lifted or just some areas. As I recall they wanted the level down to 850' before they start getting the rain tomorrow. Hope things work out!

[piller]

Prayers for safety sent for all those affected.

[mohavesam]

Unfortunately,
the news media are a big part of the problem. The TV and reporters are more concerned with etting the big disater story, than helping residents and emergency services.

Nine out of ten stories and updates I can read are sensational, even filled with new sponsor ads!

It is very time-consuming to get meaningful status and threat level assessments. Read the news as if your home and family were in the path.

Even when you go home, the dam is still there... be sure to kiss your kids goodnight.

- I wonder if history will think of people willingly living below (any) dam as "Darwin Award Winners" ?

[Ray Newman]

History repeats --shades of the St Francis dam failure 3/12/'28??

See below link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francis_Dam

[jeepnik]

It sounds like the Sheriff needs to put the bureaucrats in a really small cell until the investigation is complete.
I heard they haven't had a permanent permit for the dam for the last 10 years. They keep operating on a 1 year temporary permit. In the areas that have been evacuated they have has mass burglaries.

Most of that area isn't what you'd call economically advantaged. And, I won't blame the cops for getting out while the getting is good.

[m.wun]

Our infrastructure is starting to fail but they're gonna build a bullet Train! Yah!

[stretch]

Or maybe shades of this one.....

Dams just have to be built correctly and adequately maintained. Like big bridges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood

-Stretch