Officials urge caution as Bass Lake approaches spill levels. Mudslide fears shutter other roads

PG&E warned Bass Lake could reach spillage levels on Wednesday or Thursday due to the storm in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills.

According to PG&E, Bass Lake sits at 3,364 feet of elevation and its spill gates are located at 3,366 feet.

“It’s not unusual for PG&E’s reservoirs to spill during the wettest parts of normal winters, because they tend to have less storage and are located at much higher elevations than state and federal multi-year water storage reservoirs like Millerton Lake and Pine Flat,” utility spokesman Denny Boyles said in a news release.

The Yosemite Gateway Partners also announced the storm led Caltrans to preemptively close a stretch of Highway 140 that sits near the Ferguson Fire burn scar beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The now-closed 17-mile stretch of the highway from Bear Creek near Midpines to Foresta Road in El Portal – approximately 4 miles west of the Yosemite National Park entrance – runs a risk of mudslides and falling debris.

The foothill communities of Madera, Mariposa and Fresno counties remain under a flash flood watch through Thursday morning and the areas were expected to see between 2 to 4 inches of rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday, with as much as 6 inches expected in some isolated areas, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter storm warning is in place through Thursday night for the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon and Tulare County Mountains above 5,000 feet.

This story was originally published February 13, 2019 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Officials urge caution as Bass Lake approaches spill levels. Mudslide fears shutter other roads."