City of Oroville to sue over losses due to dam emergency

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The city of Oroville plans to sue state water officials for damages caused when thousands of its residents had to be evacuated last year after the Oroville Dam spillways failed.

Oroville City Attorney Scott Huber says the city will file the lawsuit Wednesday, when officials also plan to hold a news conference.

City officials say the threat of catastrophic flooding caused it to spend a lot of money evacuating nearly 200,000 people living below the dam. They say the emergency damaged its roads and other infrastructure and has impacted the city's economy and tax base.

They say the lawsuit is a first step to recover the losses.

In February, officials warned the dam's emergency spillway was in danger of failing and unleashing uncontrolled flood waters downriver, prompting thousands to evacuate.

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Photo: Getty Images


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