Two men missing after car washed off road

Wednesday, July 28, 1999 | 2:51 a.m.

DUTCH FLAT, Calif., - The search continued Wednesday for two men who are missing and presumed dead after the car they were riding in was swept away a surge of water released from a hydroelectric plant.

A third passenger in the car managed to escape the vehicle as it tumbled down a steep rock canyon Tuesday night.

The men were attempting to cross Lowell Hill Road, which was covered with 2-3 feet of water that was released from a Pacific Gas & Electric power plant, officials said.

Emergency rescue crews from the California Highway Patrol, California Division of Forestry and the Dutch Flat Fire Department responded, but no victims were found.

A dive team was brought in Wednesday as the search coordinated by the Nevada County Sheriff's department resumed. The victims' names were not immediately released.

The road, located in a remote area, crosses the spillway and is marked by signs, said Nevada Irrigation District general manager James Chatigny.

The signs warn of occasional high water and were in place a week earlier when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inspected the spillway, Chatigny said.

He added that other people warned the driver not to try and cross the road.

Water is released when the power plant at Dutch Flat is turned off and water accumulates. When the water reaches a certain level, it spills over into Stump Creek and then into the Bear River, Chatigny said.

"It operated the way it's supposed to operate," he said.