Damaged along the same stretch of road. Good evening on that you for joining us. Im ama daetz. And im dan ashley. No one hurt but dozens of people said theyve had their windshields and sun roofs smashed while driving. The damage is clustered around highway 24 outside of chestnut creek. The chp thought someone was throwing objects down onto the freeway. They revealed the cause is something else. Reporter Melanie Woodrow shows you the answer came when they looked in a different direction. Reporter shattered windshields, broken glass, and a deafening sound. I immediately thought it was a gunshot. Reporter not once, not twice it was such a scary moment, and i can still hear the sound. It was just awful. Reporter but dozens of times since december. Today we had about 55 repo reported to chp. Reporter where interstate 680 meets 24 near an overpass. Luckily no one was seriously injured. Now chp says its not someone who is responsible, its something. All of the evidence weve gathered through o
A threeday ordeal is over for now. Butte county officials lifted the Evacuation Order for nearly 200,000 people in the oroville area south of chico. Officials say the damaged main spillway has been stable for four days. They have drained enough of the lake behind the dam so the damaged emergency spillway will not be needed. Were continuing to make significant gains in removing water from the reservoir, which drops the Water Surface elevation as indicated further reducing the risk. People in the area are urged to remain vigilanvigilant. Residents of the areas began heading home as soon as they heard the order was lifted. Laura anthony was with one of the families when they got the word. A lot of these families didnt have good options when they evacuated suddenly on sunday night. We talked with some today that said they had run out of money. They had enough for two nights in a local motel. So for them, the lifting of this order came just in time. Just really want to go home. His name is
Be colder and slower. That erosion was starting to creep backward and if it had grown significantly underneath the concrete wall back toward the lake, it could have caused the spillway to collapse. The big question here that nobody really wants to say outloud is did officials overreact on sunday when they got so many people out here nearly 200,000. Officials are a little defensive about this. But they insist that they were just reacting to the facts on the ground. The facts sunday looked like there might have been trouble. The facts they believe today makes them believe any way that theyre safe. Better be safe than sorry, joe. But how could they be sure that everything is fine for people to return home. You know, they believe that the erosion underneath that damaged emergency spillway is not as bad as it could have been. Theyve been working day and night to try to put those rocks in place to plug up those holes. And they believe that the storm that system of storms coming is not as bad
Active attack to address the erosion concern. A huge sigh of relief yesterday when nearly 200,000 people down river from the dam were told it was safe to go home. Oh, my gosh, its overwhelming. , like, we were so happy that we could come back because we just moved here at the beginning of the year and were, like, made one house payment so far. We need to get our house, you know . Although the Evacuation Order was lifted, officials warn people in the area to be vigilant with more rain on the way. A highway in the north bay is getting some emergency repairs before the next round of storms. A stretch of highway 37 is closed in both directions. Kpix 5s maria medina is live in novato to tell us whats being done. Maria. Reporter good morning. Yeah, this is one of the lowest lying highways in the state. Im going to show you exactly why. You can see the water behind me and if i just take a few steps here, this is the shoulder already of highway 37 and you can see see crews already busy at work
Averted, the sheriff of butte county warned residents they must remain on alert. Sot in addition to filling the holes in the emergency spillway, the department of Water Resources has increased the amount of water released from the primary spillway. Which has caused no additional damage that has reduced the level of the lake sot bill croyle acting director, dept of Water Resourcesand while authorities believe the risk has been reduced to acceptable levels, they say this Emergency Repair is just the beginning of whats to come. With the all clear the thousands of people who were evacuated are now making their way home. Kron fours alecia reid is live in yuba city where she met with people who were forced from their homes. Alecia, how relieved are everyone tonight . In Washington White House Spokesman Sean Spicer says President Trump is keeping a close eye on the Public Safety crisis in oroville. The situation is a textbook example of why we need to pursue a major infrastructure package in