Evacuation notice lifted in Utah town downstream from cracked dam
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An evacuation notice was lifted Friday for the southern Utah town just downstream from a fissured dam after public safety officials said they were able to release enough water to prevent a total breach.
Nearly 1,800 residents of Panguitch, a gateway town to the crimson-colored hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park, had been on high alert in the days since inspectors discovered an unexpected 60-foot (18-meter) crack in the Panguitch Lake Dam on Monday night. Residents rushed to gather their valuables in case of an evacuation as safety crews emptied water into a creek and trucked in boulders to stabilize the wall.
As of Friday, water levels in the reservoir had dropped 8 inches (20 centimeters), alleviating enough pressure on the dam that state and local officials said they could confidently lift an evacuation notice urging residents to be ready to leave town within two hours of a breach. Panguitch sits about 10 miles (16 kilometers) downstream from the dam.