LA Times on the Orovile Dam crisis:

The evacuations marked a dramatic turn of events at the nation’s tallest dam. For several days, officials have been trying to figure out how to get water out of Lake Oroville after the main spillway was damaged.

The emergency spillway had never been used before, and until the last few hours, it seemed to be working well. But water from rain and snow continued to flow into Lake Oroville at a rapid pace, causing water level to rise to emergency levels.

Lake Oroville is the lynchpin of California’s state water movement system, sending water from the Sierra Nevada south to the farms across the San Joaquin Valley and cities in the Southland.

latimes.com