Oroville dam: authorities lift evacuation order for nearly 200,000

California water officials said they drained enough of the lake behind it so that emergency spillway won't be needed to handle runoff from approaching storm

Authorities lifted an evacuation order on Tuesday for nearly 200,000 California residents after declaring that the risk of catastrophic collapse of a damaged spillway for Oroville dam had been significantly reduced.

The Butte County sheriff, Kory Honea, said residents could return home immediately.