Evacuation orders issued for low levels of Oroville

This story originally appeared on KCRA.com.

An evacuation has been ordered for low levels of Oroville and several areas downstream from Lake Oroville, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office posted the following on it's Facebook page:

"A hazardous situation is developing with the Oroville Dam auxiliary spillway. Operation of the auxiliary spillway has lead to severe erosion that could lead to a failure of the structure. Failure of the auxiliary spillway structure will result in an uncontrolled release of flood waters from Lake Oroville.

"In response to this developing situation, DWR is increasing water releases to 100,000 cubic feet per second.

"Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas downstream is ordered.

"This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill."

An excavator moves dirt and rocks to level off an area along the banks of the Feather River to creat a road for other heave equipment that will be used to clear debris from the river as thousands of gallons of water rush over the auxiliary spillway at Oroville Dam in Oroville, Calif., on Sunday, February 12, 2017. The California Department of Water Resources is now working to remove debris from the river so water flow down the Feather River doesn't impede the hydroelectric generation at the dam. less An excavator moves dirt and rocks to level off an area along the banks of the Feather River to creat a road for other heave equipment that will be used to clear debris from the river as thousands of gallons of ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Evacuation orders issued for low levels of Oroville 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Residents are being asked to move north to the Chico area.

The California Department of Water Resources said there has been severe erosion on the emergency spillway, not the main spillway which was damaged by concrete erosion on Tuesday.

DWR officials are planning to increase water releases from the main spillway to 100,000 cfs so that no more water will come down the emergency spillway.

The main spillway can handle water flows up to 250,000 cfs.

DWR said the increased flows will further damage the main spillway.

This story originally appeared on KCRA.com.