Residents Near Prado Dam Who Fled Flood Threat Seek Answers

More than 200 Corona residents who were forced to evacuate when Prado Dam began leaking met with city officials Tuesday evening to express fear for their safety and to learn details on what happened.

Despite officials’ assurances that the massive earthen dam was in no danger of bursting, residents who live immediately downstream from it said they remained fearful.

“We haven’t hit really the rainy season yet. What’s going to happen in February?” said Scott Carlstrom, who lives in the Green River Village mobile home park that was evacuated.

Visible from the Riverside Freeway, Prado Dam on the Santa Ana River is two miles from where Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties meet.

A leak in the 64-year-old dam, which had been holding back a near-record level of water after the recent storms, prompted an early-morning evacuation on Jan. 14 of more than 2,000 residents of the mobile-home park and a gated community.

Though the mandatory evacuation was lifted later that day and federal officials said they were confident the dam would not give way, city officials urged residents to stay away over the weekend, until water levels behind the dam dropped.

“Everything that happened was trying to make sure you were put first and your safety was put first,” said Karen Spiegel, mayor pro tem of Corona.

The residents gathered Tuesday night in the banquet room of the Green River Golf Club. Corona police and fire officials gave a detailed account of the days leading up to the evacuation.

Officials sounded frustrated that they couldn’t get a clear answer on whether to evacuate from the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates and is upgrading the dam. They said the Corps told them it was a local decision.

“Then one engineer stated if his mom lived there, he would evacuate her,” Fire Chief Mike Warren said. “He also said, ‘It’s going to fail; it could be a matter of hours or days, but hopefully our [repairs] get done before it fails.’ ” Warren said those comments were one of the factors that led to the evacuation.

A Corps representative was not present, which angered many at the meeting.

The Corps will have a meeting with the community on Feb. 4.

Residents peppered city officials with questions, ranging from technical queries about the dam to others about the safety of their houses. They also complained about the way in which the evacuation unfolded.