April 1948 was a very rainy month. According to Lassen Volcanic National Park officials that placed received 419% above average precipitation for that month.
Closer to home, all the heavy spring rain and snow runoff, filled Leavitt Lake to capacity in a few weeks. It should be noted that the lake was nearly dry for three years. Then a brisk windstorm on April 28, with gusts as high 40 miles per hour, caused a lot of excitement at Leavitt Lake. With the winds whipping the lake into a frenzy, it began to wash away a portion of the northern levee. Grover Bass who was charge of Lassen Irrigation District, the owner of the lake, summoned nearby ranchers—Denny Elledge, Stanley Bill, Howard Bill, Bill Ahern, and Les McColm—to form a sand bag brigade. The men worked tirelessly all day and placed over 300 sand bags along a quarter mile section of the damaged levee.