Nearly 200,000 people remained under evacuation orders Monday as California authorities try to fix erosion of the emergency spillway at the nation's tallest dam that could unleash uncontrolled flood waters if it fails. (Feb. 13)
Officials have begun a complex operation aimed at trying to repair the damaged emergency spillway at Oroville Dam in advance of new storms coming to the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Chris Orrock, spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, said workers were beginning a multi-part operation to repair the emergency spillway. In one part, helicopters are dropping sacks of rocks into a hole created by erosion. Dump trucks are also bringing in more rocks to patch other spots and create slurry to solidify it, the Times reported.
They're also building a gravel road out to where the helicopters are dropping the rocks. Then the trucks can drive out and create a slurry to deposit in the hole and solidify it, according to the Times.