Two children lost their lives when a section of a hillside cracked near a dam and river in Northern California on Thursday, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
Hillside Collapse Near California Dam
The incident occurred downstream of the Shasta Dam around 9 a.m., leading to the children being cornered in the fallen rocks and clutter. After attempts to lower the river level by decreasing water from the dam, their bodies were eventually found.
The Shasta County Sheriff's Office, along with other agencies, conveyed solace to the victims' families. An inspection is ongoing to resolve the situation that led to the dire occurrence.
Although it was not stated if rainfall played a role in the hillside collapse, California had encountered heavy rains, soaking the ground in the region. Officials elucidated that rocks and clutter dislodged from the hillside near a drainage culvert, leading towards the river.
In acknowledgment, the sheriff's office positioned a search and rescue team, a dive team, a boating safety unit, and other agencies to detect the children in the water.
The search area was situated downstream from Shasta Dam, with water flows from the dam temporarily decreased to facilitate the recovery operation.
Rescue teams successfully located the bodies of both juveniles in the river. However, the identities and ages of the children have not been voiced.
Shasta Dam in California
Shasta Dam, formerly known as Kennett Dam, is a solid arch-gravity dam located across the Sacramento River in Northern California, USA. Standing at a height of 602 feet (183 m), it ranks as the eighth-tallest dam in the United States.
Placed at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, Shasta Dam was created to form Shasta Lake, serving purposes such as long-term water depot, flood control, hydroelectric power generation, and safeguarding against the encroachment of saline water. With a size of approximately 4,500,000 acre-feet (5,600 GL), Shasta Lake is the biggest reservoir in the state.
Read Also: 5-Year-Old Venezuelan Boy's Death at Chicago Shelter Raises Concerns About Migrant Safety
Basically gestated in 1919 to address water management, control, and distribution for California's Central Valley, the main agricultural region, Shasta was originally certified as a state project in the 1930s.
However, due to the budgetary difficulties of the Great Depression, the project faced challenges in bond sales. Therefore, it was relocated to the federal Bureau of Reclamation as a public works leadership.
Construction started in 1937 under Chief Engineer Frank Crowe's administration, providing crucial employment during a time of economic difficulties.
Specifically, the dam was finished twenty-six months ahead of schedule in 1945, making it the second-tallest dam in the United States at the time, surpassed only by Hoover Dam. It was renowned as one of the most important engineering achievements of its era.
Prior to its official dedication, Shasta Dam played a crucial role in World War II by supplying electricity to California factories.
Today, it continues to be essential to the management of the state's water reserves. Nevertheless, the dam has brought about important environmental and ecological changes to the Sacramento River, including the flooding of sacred Native American tribal lands.
In recent times, there has been ongoing dispute about the future of raising the dam to boost water storage and power generation, possibly generating more low-carbon electricity.
However, this project is met with opposition from certain people and supporters for fish, citing concerns about negative effects on river flows and facing extinction.
