OPINION: Oroville Drains While Shasta Looks Marvelous

A drive around the north state these days shows how remarkably fast the fragile water picture can change. It can be confusing as well. Just three months ago, at the end of an El Niño rainy season, the state’s two largest reservoirs — Shasta and Oroville — looked blissfully the same. They were full for the first time in years, to the point that houseboats on the lakes could tie up to trees on the bank rather than pound a stake into the dirt bathtub ring.