Oroville Dam: Oregon Red Cross Volunteers Help Evacuees

More than one dozen volunteers from Oregon and southwest Washington are headed to California to assist the nearly 200,000 people who have been evacuated from their homes because of a possible break of the Oroville Dam, the nation's highest dam.

Sixteen volunteers from Portland, Dallas, Medford, Silverton, Bend, Wood Village, Salem, Newberg, and Vancouver, Washington will staff shelters set up for evacuated residents and deliver food and other supplies in anticipation of the possible dam breach, according to the Red Cross.

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"I saw the news coverage last night and started packing my travel bag," one volunteer, Mike Williams, said. "I knew I needed to help and when I received the call this morning asking if I could go, I was ready. The folks who have been evacuated need us."

Williams is driving one of three Emergency Response Vehicles deployed from Oregon and Southwest Washington to aid in the Oroville Dam response.

The Red Cross says that nearly 4,000 residents were in Red Cross and community shelters as of Monday morning and they are preparing to shelter and feed thousands more in the upcoming days.

The evacuation orders came on Sunday night in Butte and Yuba counties, Yuba City and Marysville, as damage was discovered to the Oroville Dam, the nation's highest dam. The dam currently remains intact, but the emergency spillway is eroding. The governor of California has declared a state of emergency and substantial search and rescue help is being deployed, including the California National Guard and Highway Patrol, along with swift water rescue teams.

There are nearly 100 Red Cross workers on the ground, with more on the way, working with state officials and community organizations to provide comfort and care to shelter residents.

Photo Red Cross of Oregon and Southwest Washington