Over 200,000 Oroville dam evacuees allowed to return home

Water gushes from the Oroville Dam's main spillway Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. Crews working around the clock atop the crippled Oroville Dam have made progress repairing the damaged spillway, state officials said Tuesday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

This June 23, 2005, aerial photo provided by the California Department of Water Resources shows Oroville Dam, Lake Oroville and the Feather River in the foothills of Sierra Nevada near Oroville, California. The concrete spillway that was undermined and developed huge holes in the last few days is at lower left. (Paul Hames/California Department of Water Resources via AP)

Evacuees sleep and relax at an emergency shelter set up at the Sutter High School gymnasium on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Vehicles line up the Arco station as a tanker truck driver fills the underground storage tanks on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 in Yuba City, California. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Evacuee Lisa Nelson, right, relaxes with her dog at an emergency shelter set up at the Sutter High School gymnasium on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Rose Leal and her family leave an emergency shelter at the Sutter High School gymnasium to take showers on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Evacuees seek high ground Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. The thousands of people who were ordered to leave their homes after a damaged California spillway threatened to unleash a 30-foot wall of water may not be able to return until significant erosion is repaired, authorities said Monday. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Members of the Ramirez, Garcia and Sandoval families set up a makeshift campsite Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. Evacuation orders are in place for several counties downstream from the Oroville Dam. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

Alejandra Ramirez, front center, paints her nails as her cousin Joyce Garcia looks on at a makeshift campsite Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Sutter, California. (Chris Kaufman/The Appeal-Democrat via AP)

A truck loaded with rocks arrives at the staging area as a helicopter takes off with a bag filled with rocks to be dropped on a hole on the lip of the Oroville Dam's emergency spillway Monday Feb., 13, 2017, in Oroville, California. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

A helicopter lowers a bag of rocks to be dropped on a hole on the lip of the Oroville Dam's emergency spillway Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. The barrier, at the nation's tallest dam, is being repaired a day after authorities ordered mass evacuations for everyone living below the lake out of concerns the spillway could fail. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

A helicopter flies over Oroville Dam's main spillway to drop a bag of rocks that will be placed on a hole on the lip of the emergency spillway Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. The barrier, at the nation's tallest dam, is being repaired a day after authorities ordered mass evacuations for everyone living below the lake out of concerns the spillway could fail and send a 30-foot wall of water roaring downstream. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Police officers watch the Oroville Dam's main spillway from a lookout point Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. Crews working around the clock atop the crippled Oroville Dam have made progress repairing the damaged spillway, state officials said Tuesday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Play structures are submerged from the overflowing Feather River downstream from a damaged dam at Riverbend Park on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. Workers are rushing to repair the barrier at the nation's tallest dam after authorities on Sunday ordered the evacuation for everyone living below the lake amid concerns the spillway could fail and send water roaring downstream. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

A gazebo is submerged from the overflowing Feather River downstream from a damaged dam at Riverbend Park Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. Workers are rushing to repair the barrier at the nation's tallest dam after authorities on Sunday ordered the evacuation for everyone living below the lake amid concerns the spillway could fail and send water roaring downstream. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Rocks are loaded onto a trailer at a staging area atop the Oroville Dam Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. Workers hoisted giant white bags filled with rocks, and helicopters planned to fly in rocks Tuesday then release them into the eroded area of the spillway. Dump trucks full of boulders also were dumping cargo on the damaged spillway. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Katherine Boeger Knight, left, plays a card game with her daughter Amethyst, 5, at a shelter for evacuees from cities surrounding the Oroville Dam, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Chico, Calif. The thousands of people who were ordered to leave their homes after a damaged California spillway threatened to unleash a 30-foot wall of water may not be able to return until significant erosion is repaired, authorities said Monday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Evacuees rest at a shelter for residents of cities surrounding the Oroville Dam, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Chico, Calif. The thousands of people who were ordered to leave their homes after a damaged California spillway threatened to unleash a 30-foot wall of water may not be able to return until significant erosion is repaired, authorities said Monday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Jace Lawson, 1, of Oroville, Calif., bottom, sleeps as people behind wait for a meal at a shelter for evacuees from city's surrounding the Oroville Dam, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Chico, Calif. The thousands of people who were ordered to leave their homes after a damaged California spillway threatened to unleash a 30-foot wall of water may not be able to return until significant erosion is repaired, authorities said Monday. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Erosion caused when overflow water cascaded down the emergency spillway is seen, bottom, as water continues to flow down the main spillway, top, of the Oroville Dam, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. The water level dropped Monday at the nation's tallest dam, easing slightly the fears of a catastrophic spillway collapse that prompted authorities to order people to leave their homes downstream. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

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By JONATHAN J. COOPER and DON THOMPSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

February 14, 2017 - 2:42 pm

OROVILLE, Calif. — Authorities lifted an evacuation order Tuesday for nearly 200,000 California residents who live below the nation’s tallest dam after declaring that the risk of catastrophic collapse of a damaged spillway had been significantly reduced.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said residents can return home immediately. State water officials said they have drained enough of the lake behind Oroville Dam so that its earthen emergency spillway will not be needed to handle runoff from an approaching storm.

But, the sheriff said, the region would remain under an evacuation warning, meaning that residents need to be ready to flee again if conditions worsen.

Residents returning home “have to be vigilant,” and “there is the prospect that we will issue another evacuation order … if the situation changes,” Honea said.

Crews also dropped giant sandbags, cement blocks and boulders on damaged areas Tuesday.

Officials had ordered residents to flee to higher ground Sunday after fearing a never-before-used emergency spillway was close to failing and sending a 30-foot wall of water into communities downstream.

Over the weekend, the swollen lake spilled down the unpaved emergency spillway for nearly 40 hours, leaving it badly eroded. The problem occurred six days after engineers discovered a growing hole in the dam’s main, concrete spillway.

Officials defended the decision to suddenly call for mass evacuations Sunday, just a few hours after saying the situation was stable, forcing families to rush to pack up and get out.

“There was a lot of traffic. It was chaos,” said Robert Brabant, an Oroville resident who evacuated with his wife, son, dogs and cats. “It was a lot of accidents. It was like people weren’t paying attention to other people.”

Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday that he sent a letter to the White House requesting direct federal assistance in the emergency, though some federal agencies have been helping already.