NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Tuesday, the Governor’s Office said it had received approval of its request for federal emergency aid in response to the situation at the Oroville Dam, with state officials continuing their work to repair the dam’s damaged spillway.
Gov. Jerry Brown thanked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for moving quickly to approve his requests for federal assistance to support the response to the issues at the Oroville Dam and to help with the impacts of January’s heavy storms across the rest of the state.
On Sunday, Brown declared a state of emergency in response to the Oroville Dam situation and activated the State Operations Center in Mather.
On Monday Brown met with emergency response officials and sent a letter to President Donald Trump and FEMA requesting a presidential emergency declaration for direct federal assistance to support the communities impacted by the damage to the dam's emergency spillway.
“This federal aid will get money and resources where it’s needed most,” he said in response to the approval of his request.
Some 188,000 residents of Butte, Yolo and Sutter counties had been ordered to evacuate on Sunday after officials said they believed the dam’s auxiliary spillway might fail, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, the mandatory evacuation for the impacted residents of those three counties was changed to a warning, officials said.
“An evacuation warning means the immediate threat has ended but the potential for an emergency remains and therefore residents must remain prepared for the possibility of an evacuation order,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.
On Tuesday evening, the California Department of Water Resources said it work was continuing to reinforce the emergency spillway.
More than 125 construction crews are working around the clock, placing 1,200 tons of material on the spillway per hour using helicopters and heavy construction equipment. The agency said the area is being continually monitored from the ground and by the use of drones.
The Department of Water Resources said it is continuing to regulate outflow at the dam in order to reduce water levels in the reservoir, support construction activities and protect the Hyatt Power Plant.
The level of the reservoir continues to decrease, and at current rates is projected to possess the capacity to absorb anticipated inflows due to the rainstorms forecast for this week, the Department of Water Resources reported.
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REGIONAL: FEMA approves governor’s request for help for Oroville Dam; work continues on damaged spillway
- Elizabeth Larson
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