California National Guard To Assist With Oroville Dam Spillway Repair

OROVILLE (AP) - A California National Guard official says they will provide eight helicopters to assist with emergency spillway reconstruction at the nation's tallest dam located about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Adjunct General David S. Baldwin said at a news conference late Sunday that the helicopters will also be available for search and rescue Monday near the Oroville Dam.

He added that the California National Guard put out a notification to all 23,000 soldiers and airmen to be ready to deploy if needed.

Soldiers are preparing their equipment and loading up their vehicles. (Credit: 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard)

Baldwin says the last time an alert like Sunday's was issued for the entire California National Guard was the 1992 riots.

Evacuations for at least 188,000 people were ordered after officials warned the emergency spillway was in danger of failing and unleashing uncontrolled flood waters on towns below.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.