Power Outage in Chico, CA

More than 800 PG&E customers in the downtown area of Chico were without power on the afternoon of 2/21. The outage was between Main Street and Orange Street and between W. 1st Street and W. 7th Street. Some traffic lights were reported out. Winds at Chico Airport were sustained at 31 mph with gusts to 49.5 mph.

Rock and Debris flow over the Butte County Camp fire due to heavy rain at the Crests Powerhouse. Also CalTrans had some nearby debris issues that they have addressed with maintenance but do not know the extent. Rock slides are common in this particular slide area was a result of heavy rain on the Camp Fire.

A mass evacuation of over 180000 people located downstream of Oroville Dam was ordered for a possible flash flood, due to the projected near failure of the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway was used when the main spillway was discovered to have suffered severe erosion during releases back on and around February 7th. Releases from Lake Oroville had been increased due to rising lake levels due to inflow from heavy rains.||A presidential disaster declaration provided $274 million for emergency response costs from Feb. 7 though the end of May. The money targeted stabilizing the emergency and main spillways, as well as debris removal and work on the downed Hyatt Powerplant. A bid for long term repairs to the spillway was accepted at $275 million. Together, these total $549 million, though final costs could be much higher.

A mass evacuation of over 180000 people located downstream of Oroville Dam was ordered for a possible flash flood, due to the projected near failure of the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway was used when the main spillway was discovered to have suffered severe erosion during releases back on and around February 7th. Releases from Lake Oroville had been increased due to rising lake levels due to inflow from heavy rains.||A presidential disaster declaration provided $274 million for emergency response costs from Feb. 7 though the end of May. The money targeted stabilizing the emergency and main spillways, as well as debris removal and work on the downed Hyatt Powerplant. A bid for long term repairs to the spillway was accepted at $275 million. Together, these total $549 million, though final costs could be much higher.

A collapsing thunderstorm resulted in a downburst which brought strong straight line winds which snapped 6 power poles along east Eaton Rd. and Godman Ave in Chico. There were 10000 PG&E customers without power.

Lightning struck a deodora cedar tree, causing an explosion which sent debris up to 300 feet away. Pieces of flying wood damaged an apartment awning, the roof of a home, and several vehicles. Another lightning strike on a transformer left 1,800 customers without power for up to four hours. Additional power outages occurred for 4,300 customers in Tehama County, including the towns of Los Molinos, Gerber and Dairyville.

A powerful, cold storm system with heavy snow and gusty winds sometimes brought dangerous driving with whiteout conditions. Snow amounts of 3 to 5 feet were reported in the mountains. Heavy snow fell down into the foothills impacting travel. Numerous schools were closed or had delays due to the snow. Gusty winds of 40-50 mph were recorded across the area, with gusts locally higher in the high elevations of the northern Sierra. The winds and low snow combined to cause dangerous travel conditions with an extended closure of Interstate 80.

A powerful and cold storm system with heavy snow and gusty winds brought blizzard conditions. Snow amounts of 2 to near 5 feet were reported in the mountains. Significant snow fell down into the northern Sacramento Valley, with 3 to 8 inches of accumulation impacting travel. Many schools were closed or had delays. Wind gusts of 40-60 mph were recorded across the area, with gusts locally higher in the high elevations of the northern Sierra. The winds and low snow combined to cause dangerous travel conditions numerous road closures, including a closure of Interstate 5 north of Fawndale, on US Highway 50 and an extended closure of Interstate 80 across the Sierra.

A potent winter storm brought mountain snow, valley rain, and gusty winds to interior northern California from December 6 through the 8th. One to two feet of snow fell for elevations above 5500 feet, bringing difficult driving conditions and chain controls to most of the mountain passes. Down in the Valley and foothills, one to four inches of rain fell which brought slick road conditions and minor roadway flooding. Finally, gusty winds around 30-40 mph resulted in downed trees and some power outages.

A cold storm brought blizzard conditions in the mountains and severe thunderstorms with weak tornadoes, hail, flooding in the Central Valley. There was very heavy mountain snow, especially in the Sierra, with storm total snow accumulations to 6 to 8 feet. The heavy snow coupled with strong winds brought whiteout conditions and shut down major mountain roads such as I80. Snow accumulations with this cold storm extended down through the foothills, causing tens of thousands of homes to lose power and many schools to close.

A series of winter storms moved through bringing travel problems in the mountains from heavy snow, and heavy rain with local flooding. Gusty winds brought down trees and caused power outages. Thunderstorms also locally brought some large hail.