Rains cause widespread flooding, road closures

Several days of heavy rain caused flooding throughout the county last week, closing many roads including Hwy. 35, as road crews fought debris, clogged culverts and mudslides.

Since last Friday, Michel Road, Canyon Mill Road, 1125 Terrace Lake Road, Lost Creek Lane, N. Couture Loop, Rocky Butte Road, Canyon Mill Road, Leaping Horse Lane, 1190 Emery Road, and areas on Hwy 93 and 209 and Ferndale Bridge were all flooded at various points.

Three bridges are out, including East Post Creek, Eagle Pass and Rocky Butte. Plus, Delaney Road, Allard's Road and Hillside Road are all deemed untravelable and St. Mary's Road east of St. Ignatius is out due to a landslide, as of earlier this week.

According to Curtis Matt, Information Officer of CSKT Division of Fire, it will be at least a week before roads and bridges will be fully repaired.

There was a meeting Sunday night at Crow Creek Club where 16 people attended.

"The main issue was that people got their drinking water from these streams and they are out," said Matt. "We are trying to mitigate that and bring them bottled water."

Matt said 18 families were stranded on Michel Road and Timberline Road east of Ronan over the weekend, but that all families are safe and both roads are now driveable, he said.

"There was good cooperation between the Lake County Roads and Bridge Department, Lake County Office of Emergency Management, Tribal Law Enforcement, and Tribal Division of Fire and Fire Crew," Matt said. "They all made joint efforts to get these people out and join the roads."

The Division of Fire crews filled and distributed 600 plus sandbags to residents throughout the area, Matt said.

The Red Cross was set up at the Ronan Community Center. According to Matt, no one needed their service as most people stayed with other residents.

Highway 35 was closed Friday and Saturday due to extensive flooding and a mudslide. No travel was permitted between mile markers nine and 13, where two to three-foot deep streams rushed across the highway, causing extensive damage.

The highway has been repaired and is open, however, as of earlier this week. Carey Cooley, who works with county emergency crews, said people can expect 20-30 minute delays between mile markers four and 13. Large trucks such as semis are urged use Hwy 93 on the west side of the lake instead of Hwy. 35.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, along with state Dept. of Transportation officials, flew over Hwy. 35 earlier this week to view the damage. The governor pledged to have the road repaired and fully open as soon as was reasonably possible.

"We are committed to keeping the road open, as long as it's not raining hard. We want to make sure local businesses are not impacted by this," Schweitzer said. "We want to do everything we can to open the road back up. Transportation crews are doing a good job of keeping the road open as much as possible."

Tom Elliot, who rents a caboose at Montana Pine located around mile marker seven on Hwy 35, was shocked when he woke up to find his '57 Ford submerged in four feet of water Saturday morning. He said he was lucky his vintage Great Northern Railway caboose was placed on a platform, just barely above the water's surface.

Elliot had no power or drinking water and rowed to "shore" to use a porta potty and to get supplies. Others weren't so lucky. Many trailers and RVs laid in murky depths as residents scurried to salvage what they could on Saturday.

According to Kathy Grove, who has been at Montana Pines for four years, the basin of the campground was filled in a matter of hours.

Other residents around the county had similar experiences. Bev Luedtke, owner of Bev's Bloomers south of Ronan, experienced a bit of a deluge. Her basement was under 20 inches of water and the whole flat between her home and her green house is swamped under three to four feet of water.

Matt said we can expect more of the same as the National Weather Service calls for heavy weather throughout the week.

"If we get the same amount of rainfall we can expect a similar situation," he said.

Matt said that Hwy 35 will continue to stay open "unless something major happens."

Construction on Hwy 93 is also being delayed. Construction will be halted as long as heavy weather continues and conditions remain too soggy to work, according to Charity Watt Levis, a spokesperson for "The People's Way" construction project.