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State legislators aren’t getting answers about the Lake Oroville spillway. Neither is the federal government. Or the county government. Or journalists. Or interested citizens. It’s all coming to a head as two north state legislators whose districts include Lake Oroville are demanding answers. Well it’s about time. It all came to a head last week. On Thursday, Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, admitted at a public appearance in Chico that he had a lot of questions about the broken spillway — more questions than answers.

A strong, wind-packed spring storm has the potential to flood a river in the Sierra Nevada and soak the San Francisco Bay Area, forecasters said. National Weather Service forecaster Idamis Del Valle said the storm will reach the area late Thursday and the heaviest rain is expected on Friday. The region could see more rain on Saturday, Del Valle said. The Feather River could flood the Sierra Nevada town of Portola, which is near the Nevada state line, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

This winter, record-breaking rainfall brought California’s long-lived drought closer to its final hour. However, it also raised the probability of large wildfires this summer, particularly those fueled by tall grasses that are thriving now but will start drying out soon, fire officials say. The potential for large fires “is expected to remain near normal through the spring, but once fine fuels dry out, there will likely be a spike in grass fire activity,” according to a report by the National Interagency Fire Center.

Only 5 more inches. That’s the amount of precipitation the northern stretch of the Sierra Nevada needs between now and September 30 to become the wettest water year on record. The Eight-Station Index, a measure of precipitation in the northern Sierra that helps determine the status of Northern California’s water supply, currently stands at 83.5 inches. It’s only another storm or two away from the current record of 88.5 that was hit in the 1982–83 season.

The Mission of the State Water Resources Control Board is to balance water allocation and water quality protection for California. With its latest flows proposal for the San Joaquin River tributaries, the SWRCB does neither and is clearly promoting the governor’s Twin Tunnels project. Even though the SWRCB cites the need for increased river flows to “improve aquatic ecosystems,” their actions reveal the true intention – which is to move additional water through the damaged Delta to facilitate the export of billions of gallons of water south.