Kings River flooding forces evacuations
Snowmelt swells river below Pine Flat Dam
About 90 homes near the Kings River Golf Course in Tulare County are under a mandatory evacuation order since 11:55 p.m. Friday due to the increased snow melt run-off flowing into local reservoirs and the related necessary flood control releases from Pine Flat Dam.
Parts of the golf course are under 10 feet of standing water.
About 90 homes near the Kings River Golf Course in Tulare County are under a mandatory evacuation order since 11:55 p.m. Friday due to the increased snow melt run-off flowing into local reservoirs and the related necessary flood control releases from Pine Flat Dam.
Parts of the golf course are under 10 feet of standing water.
The Kings River has breached and flood waters are affecting the following areas which are under a mandatory evacuation order:
Avenue 408 to Avenue 400 and Road 28 to Road 32/Jasper Drive, Avenue 393 to Avenue 400, east of the Kings River to Road 33, and south of the Kings River to Avenue 393.
Since late Friday evening, Tulare County Sheriff's Deputies and Tulare County Firefighters have been going door to door advising residents that they must leave immediately.
Impacted residents may go to the Red Cross Evacuation Center open at Reedley High School, 740 W. North Ave., in Reedley.
Residents south and west of the golf course are under a voluntary evacuation order. The affected areas for the voluntary evacuation area include:
West of the Kings River bordered by Kings River Drive, Cypress Avenue and Bonander Avenue and south of Highway 201.
The Kings River has been closed to all recreational use since March 21 due to potentially dangerous conditions. Recreational use includes swimming and boating. Due to the snow melt, Tulare County riversare flowing very fast and very cold. Do not enter the water or go to the river's edge.
The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing water from Pine Flat Dam, which flows into the Kings River and travels through Fresno and Tulare counties. As of Saturday, the flow at the Kings River wass 14,200 cubic feet per second, which is down slightly from Friday.