Evacuations Prompted Oroville Dam Spillway Erosion Reduced, Residents Being Allowed To Go Home

OROVILLE (CBS13) - Authorities have lowered the Butte County evacuation orders due to the Oroville Dam spillway incident to an Evacuation Warning.

The change means residents can go back home, but need to be ready in case the situation changes.

Authorities announced they had lowered the orders during an early Tuesday afternoon press conference.

About 27,000 evacuees were being cared for by the American Red Cross due to the order, according an official with the organization. Nearly 200,000 residents in the areas downstream from the Oroville Dam were asked to evacuate.

Erosion after water started going over the emergency spillway prompted the mandatory evacuation orders on Sunday. It was the first time in the dam's history that the emergency spillway came into use.

Crews have been working day and night to reinforce the emergency spillway of the Oroville Dam. Helicopters and trucks are dropping concrete into the eroded areas below the spillway.

At Tuesday's press conference, officials announced that so far they have found that the spillway was not compromised by the erosion.

Caltrans announced just before the evacuation order was lifted that highways 99, 70, 162 west of 99 and 20 have been reopened.

The evacuation order in Yuba and Sutter counties have also been reduced to advisories.

Another series of storms is headed for Northern California starting on Wednesday. Crews are working to get ahead of the storm and reinforce the emergency spillway before more rain arrives.