When the levee breaks....Lake Oroville dam in trouble.

[Ziggy]

Quite the hole..

Lots of work to be done...

View attachment 542265
View attachment 542266
View attachment 542267

Saw an update earlier today saying they're turning off spillway today to enable clearing the debris at the bottom and getting the power plant back online. They figure they have about 7-10 days of dry weather to git-r-done.
Lake was at 838ft.

 

[Cray Paper]

Looking forward to pics from the new bottom of the spillway. That will provide a true perspective of how much soil has been washed away as well as where the bedrock really is in relation to the concrete lined spillway. What I find amazing is how tough the bedrock is. The force that the water imparted on the rock for the time the water was allowed to hit it doesn't appear that it wore down the rock much. Guess it would be different if there were sand or fines in the water, being that the spillway is dumping clean water maybe being surprised at well the rock held up shouldn't be a surprise?

 

[Flyinbowtie]

 

[boat527]

Looking forward to pics from the new bottom of the spillway. That will provide a true perspective of how much soil has been washed away as well as where the bedrock really is in relation to the concrete lined spillway. What I find amazing is how tough the bedrock is. The force that the water imparted on the rock for the time the water was allowed to hit it doesn't appear that it wore down the rock much. Guess it would be different if there were sand or fines in the water, being that the spillway is dumping clean water maybe being surprised at well the rock held up shouldn't be a surprise?

Here is the KCRA vid:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/kcra.r...tflow-reveals-damage-at-lake-oroville/8987237

 

[HST4ME]

Fuck me... Now that's a hole

 

[DILLIGAF]

View attachment 542363

What the heck is that a pic of?

 

[Willie B]

Looking forward to pics from the new bottom of the spillway. That will provide a true perspective of how much soil has been washed away as well as where the bedrock really is in relation to the concrete lined spillway. What I find amazing is how tough the bedrock is. The force that the water imparted on the rock for the time the water was allowed to hit it doesn't appear that it wore down the rock much. Guess it would be different if there were sand or fines in the water, being that the spillway is dumping clean water maybe being surprised at well the rock held up shouldn't be a surprise?

...At my property which looks directly down on the dam there is a 75 foot tall quartz crystal rock that appears in color very much like the bed rock in the video... during previous torrential downpours not 1 inch of that 75 foot tall rock has moved..,the rock on my property is loaded with flakes of gold as to whether it's real gold or not I do not know...I do know that it is loaded with crystal and is very very tough stuff...It most likely could take the beating that the bedrock below the dam has...

 

[Flyinbowtie]

What the heck is that a pic of?

bottom of the Spillway on your right...the giant pile of pulverized earth that was formerly the mountain, which now is residing in the river area...Hydro electric plant is towards the bottom of the pic, Thermalito diversion pool at the top...

 

[riverroyal]

Amazing. The water cutting through the bedrock is actually beautiful in a 'whoops that wasn't the plan' kinda way.
Lots of great washed granite at the bottom! Use it to line the river banks

 

[HST4ME]

[video=youtube_https;E3gtNUljcN0]https://youtu.be/E3gtNUljcN0[/video]

This vid has a better perspective of things.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

[video=youtube_https;E3gtNUljcN0]https://youtu.be/E3gtNUljcN0[/video]

This vid has a better perspective of things.

Jesus. That scar has to be near 150 feet deep!

 

[RitcheyRch]

Saw this and did not see it posted.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dramatic-new-images-show-scale-of-damage-to-10966777.php

 

[GRADS]

Jesus. That scar has to be near 150 feet deep!

Am I the only one that thinks there is probably a shit ton of gold deposited in those crevices and down at the bottom of the hill?

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Am I the only one that thinks there is probably a shit ton of gold deposited in those crevices and down at the bottom of the hill?

Tony Beets is probably trying to devise a new mining technique based on sudden dam failure. Lol!

 

[LHC30]

Maybe Jerry Brown can get the prison chain gangs to pan for it and fix the state's deficit....:rolleyes

 

[Rvrluvr]

[video=youtube_https;E3gtNUljcN0]https://youtu.be/E3gtNUljcN0[/video]

This vid has a better perspective of things.

Thats proven bedrock. Held up to all that water. Id fill it with big ass rip rap & call it the new spill way. Or better yet put thos concrete linken log looking things they use to line piers

 

[Old Texan]

Am I the only one that thinks there is probably a shit ton of gold deposited in those crevices and down at the bottom of the hill?

The Hoffman crew is moving Big Red in downstream and will be sluicing Orovile Spillway "pay"......

 

[G. Faulk]

I'm booking a memorial day trip there this year and my wife was telling me she heard the main road in is a bit washed out. Any truth to this?

Haven't been in years looking forward to it.

 

[Old Texan]

Thats proven bedrock. Held up to all that water. Id fill it with big ass rip rap & call it the new spill way. Or better yet put thos concrete linken log looking things they use to line piers

To avoid erosion, they'll need to rebuild the concrete spillway completely to the river. The washed out material will make great backfill to shore things up.

What they will really need keep up with, is to better inspect things avoiding the erosion under the spillway that allowed this to happen in the first place. Pretty sure the spillway failure was avoidable if the funding had been provided as has been questioned.......

 

[GRADS]

The Hoffman crew is moving Big Red in downstream and will be sluicing Orovile Spillway "pay"......

Holy Frick!

 

[500bbc]

Tony Beets is probably trying to devise a new mining technique based on sudden dam failure. Lol!

Actual method used in the old days.

Tip dams. Old miners would dam creeks with planking mounted on a horizontal log. Log is set at a point to where when the water level rose high enough the dam would tip open and wash the creek with a minor flood.

 

[Old Texan]

Actual method used in the old days.

Tip dams. Old miners would dam creeks with planking mounted on a horizontal log. Log is set at a point to where when the water level rose high enough the dam would tip open and wash the creek with a minor flood.

Another early form of hydraulic mining. When they went to the high pressure wash out techniques it really loosened up the overburden......The old guys were innovative indeed.

 

[500bbc]

Another early form of hydraulic mining. When they went to the high pressure wash out techniques it really loosened up the overburden......The old guys were innovative indeed.

The dams worked great in isolated, hard to reach locations.:thumbsup

 

[kevnmcd]

Saw this video of the damage from yesterday. Amazing.

https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNation/videos/10155118979224874/

 

[Willie B]

...Anybody have any input as to whether this would be a bad time or a good time to sell my acreage that looks directly down on Lake Oroville and Oroville dam...In a way I think it might appeal to somebody that might be working construction for the next year on the spillway or people now just appreciating the beauty of Lake Oroville but on the negative side of it with all the chaos up there maybe it's a bad time to put it on the market???...Dunno???...

...27 acres owned by me but 100 acres of privacy... incredible view...

 

[Ziggy]

Another early form of hydraulic mining. When they went to the high pressure wash out techniques it really loosened up the overburden......The old guys were innovative indeed.

Monitor.

 

[Cray Paper]

Am I the only one that thinks there is probably a shit ton of gold deposited in those crevices and down at the bottom of the hill?

This nut job beet you to it and posted it on youtube.

[video=youtube;K5O80dDoNcU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5O80dDoNcU[/video]

 

[Flyinbowtie]

Willie:

Property values up here are doing ok, I think the best thing you can do would be to contact a real estate agent and ask them, and see what your neighbors shave to say on the subject. You have a good idea with the construction worker angle, this is going to be a multi year job, no doubt.

All.


The media is playing up the gold angle big time, and yes, there will be some new yellow in the rivers and creeks. Of course, dredging is not legal in this state anymore, due to the concentrated collection of village idiots who infest the state house in Sacto. If you want to see what real hydraulic mining can do google Malakoff Diggins and or North Bloomfield State Park. It isn't pretty.
Hydraulic mining was huge up here, and monitors are a prized possession, like Ore Carts. I had a 4 inch monitor for awhile, out in the front yard. Some guy that drove by one day was just in love with the thing, and had to have it. :skull Who knows, I may find another one around here one day.
There was mining activity on my property, and with the amount of water that moved through here you can bet I will have a sluice running and do a bit of digging myself in August, when it is hot and the water in the little creek will feel good.
The old timers up here keep their mouths shut about gold, and I tend to as well. I have a couple of Metal detectors and one for gold explicitly, and have found some color now and then. It is fun to play with the grandkids.
Anyone who looks for property up here should always see if the mineral rights are included, it adds a whole new dimension of value...
I have the mineral rights for our entire 12ish acres...

 

[79 HUSTLER]

The Hoffman crew is moving Big Red in downstream and will be sluicing Orovile Spillway "pay"......

This disaster looks exactly like Jacks "Glory Hole"

 

[Willie B]

Willie:

Property values up here are doing ok, I think the best thing you can do would be to contact a real estate agent and ask them, and see what your neighbors shave to say on the subject. You have a good idea with the construction worker angle, this is going to be a multi year job, no doubt.

All.


The media is playing up the gold angle big time, and yes, there will be some new yellow in the rivers and creeks. Of course, dredging is not legal in this state anymore, due to the concentrated collection of village idiots who infest the state house in Sacto. If you want to see what real hydraulic mining can do google Malakoff Diggins and or North Bloomfield State Park. It isn't pretty.
Hydraulic mining was huge up here, and monitors are a prized possession, like Ore Carts. I had a 4 inch monitor for awhile, out in the front yard. Some guy that drove by one day was just in love with the thing, and had to have it. :skull Who knows, I may find another one around here one day.
There was mining activity on my property, and with the amount of water that moved through here you can bet I will have a sluice running and do a bit of digging myself in August, when it is hot and the water in the little creek will feel good.
The old timers up here keep their mouths shut about gold, and I tend to as well. I have a couple of Metal detectors and one for gold explicitly, and have found some color now and then. It is fun to play with the grandkids.
Anyone who looks for property up here should always see if the mineral rights are included, it adds a whole new dimension of value...
I have the mineral rights for our entire 12ish acres...

...Thanks FBT...I have to be realistic about my property with my broken neck deal I did some damage to my spinal cord so my former rugged mountain man lifestyle I was enjoying would probably be way too difficult at this point in time???...

...When I bought the property I made sure that I had mineral rights...on the hundred acres in total including my 27 there are three mines...two closed one open..the quartz crystal rock on my property appears to have lots of flakes of some sort of gold substance in it???...Dunno???... I know just the realtor to talk to...

 

[Flyinbowtie]

I understand your back issues, you know I have my own, not fun.

You might consider retaining the mineral rights if/when you sell the land. It can be done. If there are three existing mines on the property then obviously at one point there was something coming out of the ground. I don't know if you have family or others you'd like to leave something to, but mineral rights to 27 acres is nothing to laugh at...especially in known producing areas.

One last thing. I seem to recall some sort of obscure law that requires the property owner to keep an open hardrock mine secured so people can't wander into them and die or something. You said two of them are closed, good deal...but the third, well...might be worth having a local guy weld up a door and put it in place, and lock it. You keep the key to the lock if you retain mineral rights, if you sell them with the land, turn the key over when the sale closes...
At least that is what I remember. Your RE agent should know if he/she works the gold country.

 

[Willie B]

I understand your back issues, you know I have my own, not fun.

You might consider retaining the mineral rights if/when you sell the land. It can be done. If there are three existing mines on the property then obviously at one point there was something coming out of the ground. I don't know if you have family or others you'd like to leave something to, but mineral rights to 27 acres is nothing to laugh at...especially in known producing areas.

One last thing. I seem to recall some sort of obscure law that requires the property owner to keep an open hardrock mine secured so people can't wander into them and die or something. You said two of them are closed, good deal...but the third, well...might be worth having a local guy weld up a door and put it in place, and lock it. You keep the key to the lock if you retain mineral rights, if you sell them with the land, turn the key over when the sale closes...
At least that is what I remember. Your RE agent should know if he/she works the gold country.

...Interesting thought on retaining the mineral rights???...there is a possibility that one of the mines is on my property...there's also the possibility that all three of the mines are on the 47 acres below me which belong to a good friend of mine,..the guy that owns Olive Hill Manufactured housing community in Oroville or let me rephrase that I called him about the dam situation and found out that he had just sold Olive Hill???...

...The open mine is definitely on my friends property but none of us have ever even walked into it... I've looked at the opening but I was into boats not into gold mines and my friend just simply didn't care...

...If I were to leave my mineral rights to my sister who is two years older than me at 73 and lives in a three-story mansion she would most likely say what are mineral rights...As would my cousin who was born and raised in the Chicago area and lives in an eight story apartment building...lol...

...Yes indeed spinal issues are nothing to laugh or sneeze at because if you do either it can hurt...:eek...

 

[Danger Dave]

Dumb question. If you own the land but not the mineral rights that means you can't mine the property correct, without arranging some sort of deal with the mineral rights holder? Can the mineral rights holder demand access to the property to mine?

 

[Willie B]

Dumb question. If you own the land but not the mineral rights that means you can't mine the property correct, without arranging some sort of deal with the mineral rights holder? Can the mineral rights holder demand access to the property to mine?

... I could've answered yes to everything you asked until it got to the last question... let's let a person with much more expertise than myself address this ...Mr. FBT to the white courtesy phone...

 

[Flyinbowtie]

Sorry to add to your quandry Willie, just wanted to give you the info...

As to the mineral rights I would have to go dig the stuff out of the safe, but strictly going from memory, in this state, I believe if you own the property but not the rights you can remove minerals only from the surface of the ground, as in dig no holes and recover no minerals from below the surface, period. I seem to recall that mineral rights retained by a non property owner were a concept primarily developed to cover a mine operation that drifts (underground) across a surface property line, where the owner has the right to build a house but someone else, working with the mine operation, has the right to explore and develop mining access under the ground.
In modern times, the advantage would be just that, a mine wanting to cross over (your neighbor with the 47 acres and the existing mine following a drift underground onto your property) If you agree, for a piece of the action, you contract to allow him to continue mining.

I will try to look tomorrow afternoon. I know there are hundreds or more homes built on properties in this county where the land owners do NOT own the mineral rights, in some cases those rights have been retained for decades by mining companies who long ago ceased operations...but are holding on to the rights to the minerals. After all, what was it 1930 something when they set gold at $35 an ounce, and how many mines shut down because they couldn't operate at those numbers...now...at a grand an ounce, or...say 5k an ounce some day...who knows...it costs nothing to retain the mineral rights.

I willnever sell the mineral rights to this property...and my boys have had it pounded into their heads that they should never sell them either...

 

[rivrrts429]

Impressive how much material they're trying to remove...


[video=youtube_https;ilkU_ivYTqQ]https://youtu.be/ilkU_ivYTqQ[/video]

 

[buck35]

Looks, like theres plenty of equipment on site to take a bite oit it. Thats a big ass pile , or bar that was created down there.

 

[Old Texan]

Impressive how much material they're trying to remove...

Looks, like theres plenty of equipment on site to take a bite oit it. Thats a big ass pile , or bar that was created down there.

It puts the Man vs Mother Nature deal into true perspective. Man can spend 1,000's of hours to build something to try and harness a bit of Mother Nature's resources. She in turn can wipe it out in a matter of hours. Man then takes days, weeks, and months to clean up a few days of her work trying to get back to square one knowing she can come back and take it all in the blink of an eye.......:yikes

 

[buck35]

It puts the Man vs Mother Nature deal into true perspective. Man can spend 1,000's of hours to build something to try and harness a bit of Mother Nature's resources. She in turn can wipe it out in a matter of hours. Man then takes days, weeks, and months to clean up a few days of her work trying to get back to square one knowing she can come back and take it all in the blink of an eye.......:yikes

Took my wife , then gf and her kids to mt. St helens in the mid 80s to see the area. The scope of devastation was beyond belief. Every tree for miles layed down like toothpicks. May have to make the drive over this spring to see how far back the place is now . Hard to believe it was 37 years ago .

 

[Old Texan]

Took my wife , then gf and her kids to mt. St helens in the mid 80s to see the area. The scope of devastation was beyond belief. Every tree for miles layed down like toothpicks. May have to make the drive over this spring to see how far back the place is now . Hard to believe it was 37 years ago .

37 years.....Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long ago.

[video=youtube_https;xP2dreOI8gI]https://youtu.be/xP2dreOI8gI[/video]

 

[Deja_Vu]

Took my wife , then gf and her kids to mt. St helens in the mid 80s to see the area. The scope of devastation was beyond belief. Every tree for miles layed down like toothpicks. May have to make the drive over this spring to see how far back the place is now . Hard to believe it was 37 years ago .

I was there in 1989 and the tree saplings were 3 feet tall. It has to be a full blown forest again by now.

 

[4Waters]

Took my wife , then gf and her kids to mt. St helens in the mid 80s to see the area. The scope of devastation was beyond belief. Every tree for miles layed down like toothpicks. May have to make the drive over this spring to see how far back the place is now . Hard to believe it was 37 years ago .

Went there in 1981 truck after truck bringing trees out we also walked the ape caves (lava tubes) really cool not sure if you can do that anymore.

 

[Deja_Vu]

Went there in 1981 truck after truck bringing trees out we also walked the ape caves (lava tubes) really cool not sure if you can do that anymore.

I've been there also, excellent place to hike. There are still 2 sections open.

 

[buck35]

Boy that video brings back memories. I was at work and had walked out and seen this huge black cloud, so I tell my budy its looks like a hell of a storm is rolling in . About 20 minutes later the ash started falling and no one knew what had happened yet. In an hour it was black as night and stayed that way for the rest of the day. This was about 100 to 150 miles away.:eek

 

[Willie B]

Impressive how much material they're trying to remove...


[video=youtube_https;ilkU_ivYTqQ]https://youtu.be/ilkU_ivYTqQ[/video]

...I have to give a huge amount of credit to this guy for all the work he put into putting this video together as that entire area is my second home and I have seen every element of what he was showing I just never really paid much attention to how it all worked...

...The Thermalito Afterbay which feeds the rice farms and Southern California's drinking water is where I have made many 90+ mile an hour runs in my Sanger Runner...

...Kinda hard to fathom that if something were to go further drastically wrong that when I turn on a faucet in my North Hollywood home that there is a remote chance that nothing would come out...:eek...

 

[Willie B]

[video=youtube_https;zWNwBm9uwJI]https://youtu.be/zWNwBm9uwJI[/video]

 

[rivrrts429]

[video=youtube_https;zWNwBm9uwJI]https://youtu.be/zWNwBm9uwJI[/video]

I was just going to post this. Sounds like everyone can breathe a bit after this weekend.

 

[Willie B]

I was just going to post this. Sounds like everyone can breathe a bit after this weekend.

...it does sound like they have made a little progress but I'm still a bit confused as to what the dam power plant actually powers ...is it just the dam operations or does it also send electricity elswhere???...what it powers may have been previously posted but if so I can't remember???...

 

[Cray Paper]

Took my wife , then gf and her kids to mt. St helens in the mid 80s to see the area. The scope of devastation was beyond belief. Every tree for miles layed down like toothpicks. May have to make the drive over this spring to see how far back the place is now . Hard to believe it was 37 years ago .

I was just finishing up my paper route when it blew. I still recall the sound when it blew. I was 150+ miles away from it as the crow flies. A couple hours later my parents were driving us to some function and we could see the ash plume very clearly. My dad took us down there a year later and the devastation was amazing. Most of the bridges were washed out by huge trees and mountains of ash and the low lying rivers were choked with huge light grey ash plumes. That was in 1981. When I moved back to the Seattle area and met my wife current wife, we took a trip to MT saint Helens, this was in 1996?. What a difference. It's a 5- 6 hour drive from the Seattle area with no traffic. It quickly became apparent that Weyerhaeuser had spent a ton of money to provide visitor centers. They must have been given the contract to harvest the deadfall.

The interactive displays are amazing, so is the main visitor center. Unfortunately we went in May and it was snowing and the top of the mountain was covered in clouds. There is a IMAX type theater overlooking the top of the mountain, when the video is over the curtains open up to show the side of the mountain that was blown off. Again, it was covered in clouds when we were there last, but I would venture to say it is amazing to get a sense of the scale of the devesta6tion if it is clear. People that are not familiar with the density of the forests in WA state have no idea of the amount of force it takes to knock down thousands of healthy acres of healthy cedars and fir trees. It happened in seconds.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

I was just finishing up my paper route when it blew. I still recall the sound when it blew. I was 150+ miles away from it as the crow flies. A couple hours later my parents were driving us to some function and we could see the ash plume very clearly. My dad took us down there a year later and the devastation was amazing. Most of the bridges were washed out by huge trees and mountains of ash and the low lying rivers were choked with huge light grey ash plumes. That was in 1981. When I moved back to the Seattle area and met my wife current wife, we took a trip to MT saint Helens, this was in 1996?. What a difference. It's a 5- 6 hour drive from the Seattle area with no traffic. It quickly became apparent that Weyerhaeuser had spent a ton of money to provide visitor centers. They must have been given the contract to harvest the deadfall.

The interactive displays are amazing, so is the main visitor center. Unfortunately we went in May and it was snowing and the top of the mountain was covered in clouds. There is a IMAX type theater overlooking the top of the mountain, when the video is over the curtains open up to show the side of the mountain that was blown off. Again, it was covered in clouds when we were there last, but I would venture to say it is amazing to get a sense of the scale of the devesta6tion if it is clear. People that are not familiar with the density of the forests in WA state have no idea of the amount of force it takes to knock down thousands of healthy acres of healthy cedars and fir trees. It happened in seconds.

We snowmobile up there. On our side you can climb to the top and crawl out over the edge of the Crater on your belly and look in... facking insane!