Oroville Update 5th of July- Blasting Halted! 

I've worked construction for 30 years now. Mostly has a heavy equipment operator. Those drill rigs make a lot of noise and it is very obvious to when they are drilling their current location. So so was the blast result of explosive placement at the wrong place, improper amount of explosives, i.e. to much, or was the rock weaker in that area resulting in a over blast. How did this get missed in the checks and balances of "controlled blasting". Great job continue the good work

Have no idea why this interest me so much but still wait on your regular updates thanks for the cool videos John from Australia

It will never cease to amaze me how quickly monumental infrastructure projects can be done when bureaucracy is pushed aside...thanks for keeping us informed!!!

It's late and forgot to add that I've been following your videos going back to, if not before, the emergency declaration and evacuation earlier this year. Also appreciated some of your travel videos, and explaining how your new video equipment improves the video quality and thus our viewing experience. Well done.

Thanks for presenting the press conference. You show why the press conference is valuable to the public and the agency. The DWR person gave an evasive answer to your question and the full story only came out because a journalist asked a followup. That journalist did their job and read the public record communications from FERC to DWR, and held DWR accountable in a very polite manner. As a construction person, I know that the work must continue and mistakes are just part of the process as ;long as the team addresses the causes. With the time pressure and consequences of errors the project management team has an incredible management challenge. Sounds as if DWR and Kiewit are doing the right thing here with the QA/QC work. Transparency helps these projects "get it right" but it can be very uncomfortable for the participants in the moment.

Great flying on the part of the Orion pilot! Gee that silver and blue B25 was beautiful!

For Juan to fly over the dam and point things out, that's fun and games. But man, having to listen and participate in this very long government/media meeting seems like actual *work* . Thank you Juan for donating your time here to keep us informed.

Great footage from the vintage airshow. Loved the gooney bird fly by, I thought he was going to do a touch and go, he was so low! Comprehensive reporting on the Oroville situation as always, thanks for the video, Juan.

mighty luscombe:)), I'm in so .ca. and we still have tiny tiny bit of snow in Palm springs. thx for the ride again

I was going through Oroville update withdrawal symptoms! Thanks for the update Juan! Awesome as always.

1:10 biennial 🙂 Thanks for another great update Juan 👍

Thanks for including the extended Q&A exchange with DWR. It is really good to see you and the MSM reporters building on each others' questions to try to get at what is going on with improper blasting. Thanks also for continuing with these updates - they are so useful, especially in trying to cut through all the noise to understand the key issues being tackled right now.

Loved the brief glimpse of the older aircraft. Semi-annual refers to a twice-a-year occurrence, biennial is every two years.

Thanks for another great report Juan! "Vague answers to pointed questions" should be the subtitle! A question for next time is regarding the 8 additional cameras that were mentioned. Wondering about timing and whether public will be able to view them. There is a particular need for a camera that will show the plunge pool area.

What surprises me is that the lake level has been maintained around 811-812 feet for several weeks now, with output from the Hyatt power plant cut to match summer lake inflows. If there is any chance that the delays could mean the lower spillway work may run past Nov 1 or the blasting damage to the upper spillway could impair its ability to handle 100k cps next winter then I think it imperative they use the summer to get the lake way down to

"Vague answers to pointed questions…" LOL

The news conference seemed to go pretty well. I did not see them dodging any questions, including the unauthorized blasting issue. I like that there is a plan to use the main spillway if needed before all the construction is complete. This was one of the better DWR news conferences I've listened too. Good questions, Juan, thanks for the flyover and you usual outstanding coverage.👍👍.

I've spent a lot of time with pilots on military and civilian flight simulators and with other hardware-in-the-loop flight simulation systems over the years and I very much appreciate Juan's technical perspective on this process. Thank you, Juan, for sharing your concerns!

Thank you again, Capt. Browne, for the fine reporting and fly-over. You are bringing "history in the making" as I wasn't around when the big dams were being constructed around the US. What an immense project/fix this is, and they only had one big screw up thus far: "unauthorized" blasting. What a mess, but at the same time, what an impressive work site.

Juan, they always hesitate when answering your questions. Unauthorized blasting?? Backfilling? Not on confirmed plans yet... Tap dancing... Juan you are the best at everything you do! Thanks again, great video! 🇺🇸✈️

What a great airport to have an airshow at - doesn't look like a huge hoard (or maybe herd!) of people, and you are up close to the planes. Love the sound of the radials in the B-25 and DC-4 in their fly-bys, and the P-51s raise the hairs on my arms. That has to be a memorable experience strapping in and flying one of those birds. And as always, thanks for the great reporting and digging into those activities that other news agencies kinda gloss over!

it's amazing how far aircraft had advanced from Wright Bros to the onset of WWII... just amazing ..

The biggest concern has to be getting this years construction to a point that should the spillway be used to an extreme, that new concrete infill, RCC and new spillways are not compromised.

Thanks for keeping us informed Juan. Really appreciate it. This is the only ongoing detailed information I have found since our evacuation was announced. Love the flyovers!!!

Thanks Juan another great video. I LOVE the way you shared the meet with the fly-bys. That looked like a C47 or something and he was really close to the ground on his fly by. WOW, I'm used to the P51's doing that but not the big guys. All I can say is MORE please LOL

I have been fortunate enough to get a ride in both a C-54 and a B-25. They are absolutely incredible machines. The B-25 was louder than I could ever imagine inside, and the C-54 was incredibly smooth inside, very awesome airplanes.

Also, Juan, the plastic over the recently poured concrete is mainly to control evaporation of moisture from the concrete, not necessarily to control the temperature, although some temp control will occur because of the lack of moisture loss. Blankets are generally only used in colder weather. I suspect that they will also spray, or otherwise, somehow place water on the surface of the new concrete, under the plastic, for at least the first 7-10 days to help with curing.

Thanks Juan. I was quite taken back seeing what has been done since last time, they certainly are moving things at a fast pace.....looking forward to the next instalment. Thanks again. 👍🏼😊

Thanks for the update & a great video "Blancolirio".......I'll be at the upcoming community meeting in Oroville July 17th . I hope they can fill in that big hole and tie into the upper spillway and still finish on time, I'll keep my eyes & ears open. Great info.......

Juan.. you're the man! Thanks for your excellent updates. I see an impressive job site busy with activity day and night - under the lights. My hunch is that the contractors, working under pressure of the November deadline, are likely ahead of schedule. The pace is too fast for the SLOTH of The State who conjured up (non-existent) "blasting issues" to the slooow the work down. ... been here many times before.

Still the only REAL coverage of Oroville. Thanks for all of your efforts.

Another great update. Every time I see an update the same thought comes to mind. "Oh my gosh, the expense."

thnx for the vid Juan this has captivated me from the very start an i always look forward to ur updates. keep it up!!!

Juan... Press #1 for Refill on Margaritas, SWEEEET Sounds from V12s Supercharged .... !!

Your videos are inspiring to watch. You have undoubtedly, as stated many times here, have effected change in fair, unbiased, responsible "Reporting/Journalism" across the internet as well as the "Main Street Media." I am so impressed with your abilities to fly/pilot aircraft and the dedication to Aviation you display Juan. You are multi-talented and obviously a really cool guy/Dad/Reporter/Pilot. Thanks so much for the continual updates Juan.

If you're going to ask a question that refers to a document (FERC Report), then either quote the paragraph your referencing, or give the page number and paragraph number on the page. Otherwise, you allow DWR to weasel out of the answer by saying, 'I'm not familiar with the paragraph." I can't believe how poorly the "professional journalists" frame a question.

Juan, that AVgas must have gold as a special anti-knock additive! Price of regular car gas here in coastal NC. is currently $1.92 per gallon. 93 octane (premium) is $2.42 to $2.75, depending on the station. And diesel is ranging from $2.19 to $2.43.

Hello Wales! my ancestor was thought to be Welch, he settled in the area that is now Dover, Delaware in year 1653. He previously lived in Somerset.

Thanks for your info,your channel is MOST informative as I have friends and family who live below the dam.

And I **loved** the low-and-slow-fly by the DC-4. No mistaking a Douglas for anything else! Beautiful plane, expertly flown.

I've attended the Reno air races many times over the last 30 years, which is simply fantastic for those who have never been, all the time never knowing of this air show, thank you Juan. This appears to Reno light, but in smaller setting, no massive crowds and a great taste of these planes. The thought of Being that up close and personal for those flybys gives me goose bumps.

Every day, I'm checking this channel for news even if it's >5000 miles from home. Thanks Juan

Don't know how those workers manage in the extreme heat there. More great reporting Juan. :)

The sheeting is to ensure enough moisture is in the concrete to cure properly. There are other methods that can be used, but covering with plastic or wetted burlap is a simple, inexpensive, and effective one. Concrete pulls water into its chemical structure as it cures, so it needs to be kept moist until the curing is complete.

Thanks again for continued coverage of the debacle at the dam... you are the ONLY source of such high quality information.

Why don't they concrete the entrance to the spillway to prevent scouring?

Looks like a great opportunity for beach combing fishing lures around the Orville Lake shore line.

I agree with c wired. When you asked why the blasting was stopped, a straight forward question, why didn't they just say there was unauthorized blasting that damaged the upper spillway? Why did the major media ppl have to drag that out of them, referencing the letters to FERC? It just didn't seem very transparent, and that causes ppl to worry about" what else are they not telling us". Keep up the great reporting Juan!!!!

howdy from Sacramento. thanks again for the awesome information and your hard work putting these pieces together.

Most projects which have spent millions of dollars have documented critical path schedules. Has it been made available?

Love that pass with the old DC-4!

I am always fascinated how slow these propeller planes are and still can fly. :D

Thank you, Juan. Since I used to live in Twain Harte, I definitely am interested in your updates. Also, I really appreciate your updates from the Mighty Luscombe. I used to fly out of Columbia and miss the Sierras. Thank You.

Trying to figure out those forms on the lower spillway. Looks like they're reinforced concrete going up to the bottom of the new spillway. They'll put RCC between them, then pour the spillway over the top of it all. That would give a continuous anchorage path to the bedrock that you wouldn't have with RCC.

Sounds like the dwr has no clue on many of these answers. Another amazing job jaun. keep up the excellent work!!

Juan Browne is the example for the new age of proper journalistic coverage , Cheers ! and thanks

Thanks for the Air Show Fly Bye's and Way to make a phone conference entertaining Juan!!!! 1 !!!! Can you add these questions to your infinite note pad for the next media phone conference please? How are the power plant turbine maintenance schedules coming along??? DWR had #1 in a rebuild phased scheduled for completion early this summer? Did they get the rebuilt parts back yet? and 2 more slotted for tear down and inspect about the same time this summer? Along with a turbine tube inspection????? Have they gotten a progress report or update on the turbine maintenance (#of) and (#of) repairs lately? I just thought someone should ask. Thanks again Juan for keeping em flying high. Stay safe and Peace Out.

I wonder if the second, surface power-plant will be reconsidered. Its outflow would tap water which now must be released via the spillway. Great Work, BTW

I think you said work was starting at 6 AM. it should be no work from 1:30 PM to about 5:30 PM to miss the heat of the day. Use this time for inspections. This work could be 20/7. Thanks for the great REPORTS Juan.

Great work Juan , good questions . Enjoyed your intro clip of 2013 air fest. Is that a B-25 or B-26 , that's a nice looking plane and wow ,that DC-4 did a low fly over! Thanks for the update on all that construction work at Oroville Dam Spillway. Fall Season is in their rearview mirror! Good luck at this years Air Fest ,stay cool out there and enjoy the events.

Thank you Juan. Great reporting, the best!

Another great Job Juan. Thanks for keeping us up to date with the facts.

Another great update, Juan, thanks for all your work. I got a sense of "official double speak", as answers to the questions. It is encouraging that the mainstream media seems to be making an effort towards relevant questioning. The "unauthorized' blasting issue, understandably, will be investigated, duh. My question would be, "who" does the investigating? It's is a fair assumption that a lot of people within the general contractor's, and the DWR upper management, had a "oh crap" moment, after learning about the "damage" caused by the unauthorized blasting. From my understanding, the blasting company, is a sub contractor working for the general contractor. So, "who" allowed the sub contractor to assume blasting without 'authorization", was "ok"? And , given the murky and obscure policy of deciding what information or details are released to the public (ultimately, the taxpayer), under the "security" justification, I'm not convinced that anything other, than a "CYA" narrative will be coming from any of the principles involved. Juan, is doing a great public service, he is asking the questions that many of us want answered. He deserves the support from all of us who believe his work is worthwhile. If I may suggest, perhaps more of us could get involved in helping Juan's efforts to get to the truth. For those who enjoy digging up facts and researching "connections", share your findings with Juan. He's one guy, a private, concerned citizen, doing a better job, in my opinion, that than the "pro's" working for the organizations of the mainstream media. Maybe, more of us could focus on what is NOT being said, rather than what is coming from "official', PR sources. Just my 2 cents worth.

Thank you for your updates, Juan! To call them informative is to minimize all the thought, research and effort you put into your posts. They're thorough and insightful.

Another great report Juan! Love the conference calls. Thanks for all the great videos you post! Don't know where you find the time! Watching from Kentucky.

I very much enjoy your updates! Bi-annual = every 2 years. (Bicycle) Semi-annual = every half of a year. (Semi-Circle) The terms have been confounded, where biannual has taken both meanings.

Bi-annual is every other year Juan. Semi-annual is usually every 6 months. LOVE your postings!!

November 1st is less than 4 months away now. Doesn't hardly seem like enough time get the work done. Still, I hope they can. Thx for the report, Juan.

Bi-annual, Juan. Semi-annual would be twice a year. Great video, as always, and getting better. Your look after her reply to your question on blasting was LOL priceless.

Sometimes when removing material next to a permanent structure it's advisable to use expanding grout vs. explosives. I wonder if they have considered that?

Thanks for the educational update.

Thanks again Juan for an excellent update.

Thanks for another great video, Juan. It's always nice to catch up on what's happening, since the pictures and videos from DWR aren't coming out as often. I recall hearing some time ago from DWR that the project was "ahead of schedule". We haven't heard that lately and looking at the progress, I wonder if it's still on schedule and how they will possibly be ready for operation on November 1st. The spillway was turned off on May 21st. That allows just over 5 months. We're almost 2 months into the schedule and it sure doesn't look like they are making much progress. Sure, the bottom section is moving ahead, but it's relatively trivial compared to the massive areas where the erosion took place. I know they won't make the plans public, but it would be interesting to see some engineering drawings. The answers to the questions about the blasting issue were very vague, particularly about damage to the remaining part of the fco spillway. I was surprised to hear that they will not lay down RCC in the part of the emergency spillway between the weir and the secant wall.

Risking washout of the new canyon roads sounds reasonable. 100cfs was about the highest they needed to run it, even after this record precipitation this last winter, and with no warning allowing them to lower the lake level in advance. So, assuming they have the new spillway done in time, 100cfs will probably be enough.

I know this has nothing to do with the dam project however I look at your AV gas price and could relate. My father used to road race (and for those who aren't familiar with racing this is the type of racing you would see in formula 1 racing a track with right and left turns. The price of gas when he was racing was close to $6 a gallon. Can you believe it cost more in racing fuel than av fuel even with the normal gas price at the time was just about 80¢/gallon. To me that sounds a bit insane and this fuel was not long lasting it mpg was as insane as the price so in my eyes your AV fuel is fairly efficient just an observation Thank you for all your reporting Happy to hear you like the 777 I have a friend who is an inspector for this plane when service is provided. I hear it's an awe inspiring piece of engineering.

The answer you got about the blasting, given you were the first to ask, was kind of dodge wasn't it? Their answer says that there is a certain aversion to admitting mistakes at DWR and/or their contractors. Damaging the upper spillway could be a serious problem and no one got a straight answer.

I enjoy your videos very much. I also enjoy your plane. I saw the price per gallon of fuel and remember paying $ .19/9 cents per gallon when I started buying fuel. I am almost 83 and my first airplane was a TaylorCraft.

Right at the start is the the most vauge dance-around answer to a question I have ever heard. Why didn't she just say that they had lost track of how many people on site?,,,or the penny pincers in the marble house are also messing around with overtime consumed. Hard to read that answer. Love the high-ish speed pass by the DC?. Neat little munic airshow, some of those are the best to go to folks. very laid back and enjoyable. Pops sold his 76 Citabria,,but I kept the wheel pants. Will be worth a few bucks to the young ones one day I hope. Just due to the Oroville problems,,our local reservoir is getting drawn down to inspect some cement outflow pylon braces and flow pipes. WA state so we see lotsa rain up here. Right after the Oroville problems, they announced it would be lowered. Surprised they haven't done it sooner. Riffe Lake is the reservoir, supervised by Tacoma Power and Light.

I have not heard anything about the 6th generator upgrade completion. I makes since to me that it would be on line before the next flood season.

That was a big airplane at a small airport, Wow!

Biannual - every two years. Semi annual - every six months. Nice airshow clips. Drove over Donner Pass this afternoon. No snow near the roads at the summits (Both old US 40 and I 80.) When they rebuild the road to the boatramp will it be a causeway culverts to prevent it from being washed away?

Nice job with all you do Juan, Thanks.

thx Juan

Thank you, Juan, for another informative report.

A few days later, seeing the "fill" (concrete/RCC ??? ) they are placing at the "stay in place" location, (from a "long shot" via the webcam) it appears they are placing the "fill" in the areas "between" the stay in place" forms as opposed to "filling in" the mesh forms that appear to be roughly two feet wide. Kind of a surprise as it appeared those forms were going to create a kind of "grade beam" beneath the spillway surface slab. Maybe the forms will be left empty and filled as a monolithic pour during the slab pour to create a kind of "T" shaped slab/beam structure that is "keyed" between the large infill areas.

LMBO!!! Love that look you gave when you asked the reason(s) why they stopped blasting and DWR gave you the typical vague answer... Classic!!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I'd love to own a P51 or similar. The engines are as rare as hens teeth from what I've heard -- many being used and destroyed in tractor pulls over the years.

Has it been determined that the "aeration" design will reduce cavitation and not intensify it? How and with what material will the "humungous hole" be filled? Is the overall gradient of the chute going to be changed, or will it be steepened at some point as before, causing the flow velocity to increase from ("x"?) to ("y"?)? Is 100K cfs enough? Is the spillway design fully capable of handling 100K cfs? What’s being done (repair, redesign) to the gates and the spillway structure itself? Was the alternative of a "humungous" splash pad/energy dissipator considered, or will the final design retain an abruptly increased gradient to handle the difference in elevation between the spillway and the bottom of the ridge? Were the P and S waves from both earthquakes and blasting thoroughly modeled or calculated in the design process, and what safety factor was used in the new (and old) design? Were harmonics and their possible/potential effects considered and found irrelevant, or? What geomorphic processes caused the existing fracturing of the "bedrock" in the geologic past? Does the integrity of spillway structure depend upon the bedrock continuing to be forever stable (or throughout the useful life [what is it?] of the structure)? Sorry if I missed it, but what kind of damage was done by recent blasting to the remaining spillway structure? Is that structure to remain or be replaced? Did the damaging blast exceed specification and/or was its location authorized? What was/were the causal factor(s) of the damage? Sorry for the dumb questions.

Vacuuming the crevices isn't needed especially if it slows down the project. It's just costly overkill. All as they need is a sufficiently rough surface that is structurally sound that the spillway can bind to. Unless they are going to pour concrete imminently then any rain will wash loads of spoil back into these crevices

The sheriff is after you for stealing the show!! Great report again! Work past Nov !, well yes if the spillway is not needed or delayed with the RVOS and all SIX of the turBINES working which they are/were suppose to be working on. Staying tuned!

my word that lady with the AP made me laugh so hard. because um.... like time constraints because of components for this summer. lol. Juan thank you for making these videos. Someone has to ask the right stuff and Juan is our guy!

Kids... gotta love em... Great video, as usual. Thanks Juan!

Thanks for the great info, Juan. Great job.

Another awesome video!!!! That air show was amazing to watch...The p 51 were very cool but the dc-4 pilot must have been one good pilot....Im thinking he/she was a fire retardent dropping pilot in real life...just a hunch... Pressure is on with the spillway to get done before Novemeber...thx for keeping it real with the spillway updates....

Juan....thanks for the Spillway update... informative information from various questions posed by media. My question for you ..... how does Kiewit propose to fill in the cavernous hole between the Spillway access roads ? Am going to try and make it to the airshow ... would be nice to put a face with a name in person .... if you have a chance.

Love the phone conference! Fifteen weeks to go and it's clear, they are working without a final design plan. The November 1st objective for a 100,000 cfs release is flat impossible, so we need to hear about a contingency plan in the case that lake levels rise beyond the ability of the Hyatt Power Plant's release capacity. Logically and mathematically - all the data indicates that the embankment will be unprotected during the upcoming wet season.

Thanks Juan, Really enjoy your Oroville dam series, your questions are great do you have an engineering and construction background? Also enjoy your Luscombe flights. I have a restored 1957 Tri-Champ and fly and out of Santa Rosa.

@ 6:21 would love to get my hands on some of this vaccumcleaning diet bet there is something interesting in it hehe, thanks again for your update, it's nice to hear how it's going along with the repairs on the spillway btw happy 4 july

Can you imagine working with all that safety gear on those rocks on days with temps exceeding 90 degrees?!?! I worked inside power stations with temps that high, it's NOT FUN.

2:10 Nice! Was that a short take-off for the DC-4?! Great shots of the fly-by, as well!