Forecast adds to urgency at Calif. dam

OROVILLE, Calif. — Officials scrambled Wednesday to drain more water from a lake behind battered Oroville Dam before new storms hit Northern California and test the quick repairs made after water cascaded down an unpaved spillway and prompted a massive evacuation.

Three storms were expected, starting Wednesday evening and stretching into next week. Some rain was already falling in the area.

Water was being released from the reservoir at a rate much higher than current inflows and those expected from the next storm, said Bill Croyle, acting director of the state Department of Water Resources.

Releases had already lowered the reservoir’s water level by about 20 feet, he told a news conference.

Still, officials warned residents who have returned to their homes to remain vigilant.

“It is important to remember that this is still an emergency situation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.

National Weather Service forecaster Tom Dang said the first two storms were expected to be light. The first could bring 2 to 3 inches of rain Wednesday followed by a smaller accumulation from the second.

However, the third storm, starting as early as Monday, could be powerful.

“There’s a potential for several inches,” Dang said.

Dump trucks and helicopters dropped thousands of tons of rocks and sandbags to shore up the spillways over the weekend and avoid what could be a catastrophic failure and flood.

Some 200,000 people living downstream of the dam were allowed to return home Tuesday after being ordered to evacuate Sunday.

Croyle said the main spillway has been stable over the past four days and is handling the large flow of draining water.

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP Water gushes out the Oroville Dam’s main spillway after officials raised the release rate from the lake Wednesday.