Oroville Dam: Spillway disaster set the scene for wildfire exodus

OROVILLE — Four lanes are better than two when escape is the goal.

That concept helped unclogged the panicking exodus from Oroville during the Oroville Dam spillway crisis on Feb. 12, 2017, and laid the groundwork for what happened during the Camp Fire the following year.

The Oroville crisis may have been the first time vehicles “violated” lane directions on a California highway during an evacuation, but now it’s been adopted by other first responders throughout the state. It is common practice back east during hurricane season.

That was new ground for the north state in 2017, but it certainly helped relieve the congestion during the mass evacuation from the Paradise ridge when the Camp Fire rampaged on Nov. 8, 2018.

Escaping a possible wall of water versus rampaging flames are different emergencies, but according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, the tactic works.

The sheriff believes Oroville could have been the first time “contra flow” on a California highway was used during an emergency.

There are big metro areas in California that have dedicated contra lanes with opposite flows that are used daily, but sending a mass of people in unorthodox directions was terrifying for evacuees as well as first responders.

With two mass evacuations under his belt, Honea has a different perspective on disasters than other first responders. He is always solemn when talking about the Oroville Dam crisis, saying he thought that would be the worst incident of his career.

Practice

“The good thing was that no one died,” he said during an October interview. Over the past two years, he has classified the Oroville incident as practice for the Camp Fire. Even so, it was “chaotic and frightening,” he said.

On Feb. 12, 2017, Honea ordered a mandatory evacuation of Oroville and the area after hearing from the state Department of Water Resources that there was a potential the never-used auxilary spillway could collapse under the rain-swollen overflow from Lake Oroville.

If the worst happened, it would release a wall of water down the Feather River that would inundate parts of Oroville, and farther downstream Marysville and Yuba County communities, killing thousands.

While the 2008 wildfires of Butte County and their aftermath laid the groundwork for post-crisis discussions, there really wasn’t a formal plan in place for orderly evacuations, said Honea, who was serving in the county’s emergency operations center during the fires.

That started to change, as county and city governments began “collaborative discussions,” he said, but there wasn’t a systematic pattern set down in Butte County.

Getting out of town or getting to higher ground was what drove tens of thousands of residents who poured out of Oroville onto Highway 70 or fled to the foothills. Most were told to “drive north” to Chico, to reach the designed evacuation center at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. Others were heading south to Marysville or trying to get over to Highway 99 in Gridley. Pouring onto already-congested highways bogged down the flow from Oroville, heightening the fear that should the spillway give way, all those fleeing would be swept away.

Contra flow

Officers with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol began blocking designated on- and off-ramps, and moving traffic onto four lanes heading north.

Moving evacuation lines more quickly was good, but Honea said first responders noted that once they hit Chico, the traffic began backing up again.

“We weren’t managing the flow at that (Chico) end. It just started backing up.”

It took a while for the traffic flows to shake loose.

Looking back, Honea said the Oroville evacuation was smoother than it could have been, although there were places that proved challenging. Gridlock happened quickly and was difficult to untangle, he said.

Traffic on side streets trying to merge onto main arteries weren’t able to squeeze in, causing some road rage, and more than a few fender benders.

Looking at more than just getting traffic going — including where the traffic is going — is on the check-list of items that Butte County officials and first responders are examining in retrospect of Oroville. Analyzing the “down road” flow is now a key element.

Honea said that state officials involved in moving the evacuation traffic may have wanted a more orderly process followed, with agencies able to get traffic signs in place and lead vehicles ready before the action, but a quick response was more of a priority with the perceived threat.

Much was the same in the Camp Fire evacuation. It had already been a couple of hours when Honea was able to stop the traffic at Neal Road and the Skyway to start using the four-lane contra flow. He recalls telling the first driver to head down the uphill lanes and to “be careful.”

Responsible citizens

What Honea said he appreciated was residents who took responsibility for their safety and escape rather than resisting or depending on first responders.

“The person in the best position to develop an evacuation plan is you,” Honea said of residents.

There will always be those who need more attention from first responders, such as those with disabilities, or seniors with mobility or functionality issues.

Those who can take care of themselves help first responders, he said.

In his dream list, Honea would see more personal responsibility in residents, from packing a go-bag to charting and practicing emergency escapes. Also recommended is looking out for neighbors with issues.

Getting more familiar with their neighborhood streets and possible routes out of town is another recommendation, especially in areas with dead-end roads.

Several deaths occurred in Paradise because people chose routes with dead ends they thought led out.

More formalized evacuation zones had been created after the Oroville Dam spillway crisis, but Honea points out people forget or resist.

With fingers crossed, Honea wishes he could guarantee no more evacuations, knowing that wildfires are a given in Butte County.

But he expects to use methods like contra flow on highways, access to bike paths and safe driving on shoulders to increase evacuation times.