The Colgate Powerhouse, operated by Yuba Water Agency, has experienced a failure of the penstock pipe carrying water from Bullards Bar Reservoir to the main stem of the Yuba River. This is a developing story, check back for updates.
February 13, 2026 at 8:12 PM PG&E has rerouted power and the remaining 736 customers are expected to be restored between 8:30 pm and 11:30 pm.
February 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM SYRCL is closely tracking the failure of the penstock and immediate aftereffects at the Colgate Powerhouse on the North Yuba River. We will continue to be in communication with Yuba Water Agency throughout the weekend, tracking environmental impacts including threats to water quality and observed rapid drop in flows below Englebright. Landslides are natural events, however videos from Rices Crossing suggest that the volume of debris from the powerhouse itself may indicate water quality issues. With the coming storms, flow management and further damage present additional near-term challenges. We will be tracking storm impacts, remaining focused on the health of the river and the safety of people and wildlife in the watershed.
February 13, 2026 at 7:07 PM PG&E update: As of 6:15 pm, we have restored power to approximately 7,000 of the 15,000 customers impacted by an outage at the PG&E Colgate substation. The outage was caused by the failure of a non-PG&E water pipe that flooded the substation. We currently expect to restore power to nearly all customers by around 11 pm tonight, some earlier. We will continue to keep customers and media informed of important updates.
February 13, 2026 at 6:28 PM Yuba Water Agency update: Yuba Water Agency is responding to a major incident that occurred just before 3 p.m. today, Feb. 13 at its New Colgate Powerhouse in Yuba County on the North and Middle Yuba River. All Yuba Water Agency staff and contractors in the incident area have been accounted for at this time and there is no threat of downstream flooding.
The public is urged to avoid the area while emergency responders continue to secure the site. There was a brief pulse in flows on the Yuba River between New Colgate Powerhouse and Englebright Reservoir downstream and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office is actively canvasing the Yuba River for any potential impacts.
February 13, 2026 at 6:18 PM CAL FIRE NEU update: The unaccounted for individual was rescued by a CAL FIRE helicopter and transported to a local hospital.
All personnel are now accounted for.
February 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM CAL FIRE NEU update: The Colgate Incident Commander reports they are searching for one individual unaccounted for with drones, helicopter and the CAL FIRE Technical Rescue Team below the Colgate Powerhouse following a pipe break. CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit is in unified command with the Yuba County Sheriff and Dobbins Fire Department responding to the Colgate incident. The CAL FIRE/Placer County Fire Department Technical Rescue Team has been requested downstream of the Colgate Powerhouse following a pipe break. The powerhouse is located on Lake Francis Road in Dobbins, Yuba County.
February 13, 2026 at 5:46 PM Yuba Water Agency update: Yuba Water Agency and local emergency responders are on site at our New Colgate Powerhouse responding to a serious incident at our penstock pipe, which moves water from New Bullards Bar Dam to our powerhouse on the Yuba River. The penstock has been isolated and there is no threat of flooding downstream. Please continue to avoid the area.
February 13, 2026 at 5:36 PM Reader Andy Wright was fly fishing at Rice’s Crossing (downstream from the Colgate Powerhouse this afternoon. He shared the following: “Approximately 3:10pm I heard the water rising quickly, maybe two feet. I decided to pack up quickly and move to higher ground. Suddenly there was debris flow, and the water turned muddy. Next thing, there were hundreds of objects floating down the river, including 55 gal drums, crates of all types, and even a large ice machine. The water stunk and fish were dying on the shore. There was a sheen of oil on the water. It was incredibly sad to see a beautiful wild stretch of river become an environmental disaster inside of half an hour.” The footage was taken between 3:10pm and 4:06pm.
February 13, 2026 at 4:56 PM Update from PG&E: At about 3 p.m. on Feb. 13, more than 15,000 PG&E customers lost power after the failure of a non-PG&E penstock – a steeply angled water pipe that provides water to a powerhouse. The failure caused flooding of PG&E’s Colgate switching station south of Dobbins in Yuba County. Customers affected are in Nevada, Yuba, Sierra and Butte counties. Our crews are working to assess the situation and redirect power and have started restoring power to customers. We continue to evaluate the situation so we can restore more customers.
February 13, 2026 at 4:26 PM Units are securing the area and making sure all personnel are accounted for.
February 13, 2026 at 4:02 PM Unconfirmed report the burst pipe has a 26ft diameter. That would correspond to the tunnel from Bullards to the penstock pipe.
February 13, 2026 at 3:53 PM Helicopter is inbound to the Colgate incident. There are reports of smoke coming from the powerhouse. No flames visible. Additional swift water rescue teams are inbound.
February 13, 2026 at 3:44 PM There is no reported flooding danger for the area below Bullards.
February 13, 2026 at 3:33 PM The gate at Bullards has been shut off, Yuba Water will attempt to shut off the valve above the busted pipe.
February 13, 2026 at 3:29 PM Command post is being established at Lake Francis dam for the Colgate incident.
February 13, 2026 at 3:19 PM Numerous resources dispatched to the Colgate Powerhouse incident.
February 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM There are 4,045 customers affected by various large outages in Nevada County, 2,147 in Yuba County and 1,314 in Sierra County.
February 13, 2026 at 3:12 PM A burst pipe in the Colgate Powerhouse in the Dobbins area flooding the structure. Numerous units dispatched, possible entrapment. Also 923 customers out of power, unknown if related.