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California River Swelling From Snowmelt Forces Out Residents

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — People living along a swelling river in Central California were ordered to evacuate after levee breaches along the Kings River, authorities said Saturday.

Tulare County Sheriff's deputies and county firefighters went door to door asking residents of 90 homes at the Kings River Golf and Country Club to leave after a 15-foot-wide breach opened on the Kings River late Friday,

About 300 people had to evacuate and that floodwaters have damaged seven structures and 18 RVs in the area east of Kingsburg, Tulare County Sheriff's Department spokesman Teresa Douglass told The Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/2tHhqp6).

The Kings River began to flood on Wednesday about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north in Fresno as temperatures soared, melting snow high in the Sierra Nevada and sending it raging downstream.

A flood warning will be in place until Monday afternoon for northeast Kings County, northwest Tulare County and central Fresno County due to the increase of snowmelt being released at Pine Flat Dam.

The Army Corps reduced the flow out of Pine Flat to 14,200 cubic feet per second, down slightly from Friday, Douglass said.

Raging rivers throughout California charged with the massive snowmelt have caused several drownings.

Authorities encourage everybody to exercise extreme caution around the fast-moving, ice cold water.

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