Stunning drone photographs of Lake Oroville help illustrate the drought emergency declared by Gov. Gavin Newsom in two Northern California counties.
Water levels at Lake Oroville have dropped to 42% of its 3,537,577 acre foot capacity.
Conditions are particularly acute in Mendocino and Sonoma counties because the local water supply depends on rainfall in the Russian River watershed.
The second parched winter in a row has left the region’s reservoirs in even worse shape than during the severe 2012-16 drought. The major water district has warned that Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino could reach historically low levels by October.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.