People living near the Oroville Dam in northern California are being told to remain on alert even though evacuation orders have been lifted. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea advised area residents today to be prepared to leave if the risk of flooding increases.
Honea said it's still an emergency situation, adding that contingency planning is underway just in case. Officials also reassured the public that the dam structure is safe, but crews were working around the clock to improve the condition of an emergency spillway. Damage to the spillway prompted the weekend evacuation of nearly 200-thousand people living downstream. As of today, engineers have lowered the water level of the rain-swollen reservoir by 20 feet ahead of the next storm system.
See the full Wednesday news conference below.