They were trying to sabotage the foundation so the dam would fail naturally during the snowmelt.
I called the sheriff, and the deputies arrested all three men waist-deep in the water. But the damage was done. My structural engineer examined the dam the next morning and gave me the bad news. The sabotage had compromised the main load-bearing arch.
The dam was now genuinely unstable.
On Monday, the federal judge reviewed the sabotage evidence. “The defendants have created the very safety hazard they claimed to be preventing,” the judge ruled. Because the dam was now a legitimate threat to downstream lives, the judge ordered a federally supervised emergency demolition to prevent a catastrophic blowout.
Dexter had finally gotten exactly what he wanted. At the cost of guaranteed federal criminal charges.
Tuesday morning broke under a heavy, gray sky. The air felt unusually warm. The spring melt was accelerating faster than anyone predicted.
