Floods plague Glacier

The Daily Inter Lake

Heavy rains causing ongoing problems at park

Glacier National Park road crews scrambled Thursday to deal with ongoing problems caused by heavy rains.

"There were definitely water issues today," said Melissa Wilson, Glacier's public affairs officer.

Several small streams were flooding in the park after nearly two days of constant rain. Avalanche Creek swelled over its banks in some locations, prompting a closure of the popular trail leading to Avalanche Lake.

Workers were deploying sandbags in some locations to protect roads from heavy

erosion, said Melissa Wilson, the park's public affairs officer.

Heavy rain Tuesday night caused mud slides and rock slides that blocked Going-to-the-Sun Road in about 10 places. In some cases, culverts were blocked, forcing water over the road's surface.

In the Logan Creek and Haystack Creek drainages, where there had been large debris slides, more damage was done Thursday, Wilson said.

Crews did not work on clearing slides from the upper road section Thursday because of more pressing flooding problems at lower elevations, she said.

Park managers were making arrangements earlier this week to open Sun Road from Avalanche to Logan Pass, but those plans have been postponed.

"We have no projections for an opening to Logan Pass," Wilson said.

The east-side approach to Logan Pass from the St. Mary entrance opened Saturday, and it remains open.