Nowhere to run: Warming air, thawing snow, frozen ground creates flooding throughout county
Linda Sappington
County road workers are marking road hazards, such as running water or deep potholes. Signs were up along North Foothills Road Friday afternoon.
Linda Sappington
Flooding blocked the driveway to the Morigeau home Sunday afternoon along Terrace Lake Road in Ronan.
Megan Strickland
As gullies and barrow ditches fill with water, drivers are urged to use caution as snowmelt can quickly cover the roadway.
Linda Sappington
As gullies and barrow ditches fill with water, drivers are urged to use caution as snowmelt can quickly cover the roadway.
Berl Tiskus
Fields of standing water are a common sight around the county as warming temperatures melt surface snow.
Megan Strickland
Drivers are urged to use caution around potholes as the spring thaw is expected to continue for months.
Megan Strickland
Drivers are urged to use caution around potholes as the spring thaw is expected to continue for months.
Berl Tiskus
Drivers are urged to use caution on flooded roads as the spring thaw is expected to continue for months.
Linda Sappington
Drivers are urged to use caution on flooded roads as the spring thaw is expected to continue for months.
Linda Sappington
Water levels threatened a storage unit Sunday along Terrace Lake Road in Ronan.
Linda Sappington
Water levels covered driveways Sunday along Terrace Lake Road in Ronan.
Linda Sappington
Fields of standing water are a common sight around the county as warming temperatures melt surface snow.
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When Tracy Morigeau Frank looked out the window of her home on Terrace Lake Road Sunday morning, water was just beginning to creep into her driveway. Within three hours, floodwaters engulfed most of her yard and entirely blocked her exit.
“It went quickly,” she said.
At about a foot deep, she didn’t risk driving out. She was concerned that she might not be able to get her children to school Monday morning. However, the water receded by the early morning hours.
“We have snow days,” Frank said. “I almost had a water day.”
With the ground still deeply frozen from recent sub-zero temperatures, the snowmelt from warm surface air and rain is causing the melting runoff to pool in fields and rise over creek banks and gullies.
As of Monday morning, Little Bitterroot Road was closed from Sloans Bridge to Highway 28 with two to three feet of water covering the roadway as the Little Bitterroot River flooded its banks. A flood warning was in effect until late Monday morning along Highway 28 from Niarada to just north of Hot Springs, with flood watches throughout Sanders County to the west.
“We barricaded this end of the road by Sloans Bridge Friday night at the request of Sanders County,” said Steve Stanley, disaster and emergency services coordinator of Lake County.
While many roads throughout Lake County have standing water, Walking Horse Lane, where it meets Buffalo Bridge Road, is closed due to erosion, and areas of Irvine Flats are nearly impassable. A flooded area on Finley Point Road, with cones warning drivers to take it slow, covers a gaping hole that Stanley called a “real surprise.” He warned drivers not to cross through flooded areas if they can avoid it.
The county will likely declare a state of emergency, as early as this week, which will give the county the ability to tap into a two-mil levy for road repairs after damage is accessed, according to Stanley. Monies may come down from the Governor’s office after that as well.
Inventory of damage to more than 1,800 miles of road throughout Lake County will take place this week.
“We really don’t have a feel for damage (yet) or how many yards of material it will take to fix it, but the damage will be significant,” Stanley said.
Because chip-sealed roads break up so easily in flooded areas, the county has set load limits of 300 psi, meaning oversize vehicles such as logging trucks or cement mixers can only pass if they are carrying about half their load capacity, according to Jay Garrick, county roads supervisor.
Workers hope to have roads repaired before the snow begins to thaw off the mountains.
“It’s truly weather dependent right now,” Garrick said.
