At least six branches have been closed since Monday because of evacuation orders for areas near the precarious Oroville Dam crisis in Northern California.
More than 188,000 people evacuated their homes on Sunday because of extensive damage to the dam’s primary spillway that could potentially cause catastrophic floods in Oroville, a small city with a population of more than 16,000, and the surrounding towns including Marysville, Yuba City, Live Oak, Nicolaus and all communities around the Feather River basin.
The $867 million Sierra Central Credit Union based in Yuba City said its Oroville, Marysville, South Yuba City and Beale branches have been closed since Monday. In addition, the Biggs and Oroville branches of the $716 million Self-Help Federal Credit Union also have been closed since Monday. The branches are expected to remain closed until the evacuation notice is lifted.
“Operating systems are up and running and debit cards usage at point of sale terminals and ATMs outside evacuation zones are not affected,” the Sierra Central CU said. “All (of) our online services such as online banking and mobile banking are operating as normal. Our branch operations not in the evacuation area are open (for) regular hours and systems are all operating.”
The credit union’s branch in Yuba City is open and its call center has been operating.
Micheline Savarin, a spokesperson for Self-Help Federal Credit Union, noted that members are able to access their funds at other co-op shared branch locations and ATMs outside of the evacuation zone.
“Our staff that work out of the Biggs and Oroville branches have had to evacuate,” Savarin said. “Fortunately, the staff that work in our Chico branch were able to get back to work (today).”
The Chico branch was closed Monday.
Self-Help also added staff to work the credit union’s call center Monday and Tuesday.
It is unknown when evacuation orders will be lifted because there are concerns of more rain hitting the Oroville area on Thursday, Friday, throughout the weekend and into next week.
Local media outlets reported that officials are working frantically to drain water from the brimming Lake Oroville to prevent a disastrous flood.
The $10.6 billion Golden 1 Credit Union in Sacramento donated $10,000 to the Salvation Army to support its efforts in helping the evacuees.
