TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) –  The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office announced an evacuation order for the Porterville area Wednesday morning.

Tulare Sheriff Mike  Boudreaux says due to the recent storm events and the water levels rising in Success Lake to the point the water is running over the spillway at Schafer Dam, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux has issued an Evacuation Order for all residences, businesses, and structures, on both sides of the Tule River, from Richard L. Schafer Dam at Lake Success, in Porterville, to the east side of Road 284.

 Boudreaux says the Evacuation Order consists of the area from Schafer Dam, west on Avenue 146, to Road 284, south on Road 284 to the south side of the Tule River, from the south side of the Tule River to the Schafer Dam, and north along Schafer Dam to Avenue 146. The Order does not include Highway 190, or the residents and businesses along Highway 190 from Road 284 to the Schafer Dam.

Deputies went door to door throughout the night to notify residents. Sheriff Boudreaux urges people to stay clear and out of the river areas and to avoid getting near the waterways.