Flood warning issued

Log dam on Stillwater River bursts Saturday afternoon

The Daily Inter Lake

OLNEY - Residents along the Stillwater River were warned of possible flooding after a small dam on Lower Stillwater Lake broke Saturday afternoon.

The middle portion of the log dam burst a little after 2:30 p.m., creating a surge of water with rapids eyewitnesses said were over four feet high. Murky water poured through the gap, and log skids that had supported the dam for decades slipped loose and floated in circles in the river below.

More than 200 people came to the Stillwater Bar, located just below the dam, to watch as the lake level dropped - and the river rose.

Logs make up the bulk of the dam, but it was fortified with boulders about a decade ago. Debris has also built up through the years, adding to the dam's support. But melting snowpack and heavy spring rains proved too much as the lake swelled.

Mike Dickerson with the Olney Volunteer Fire Department was fishing immediately below the dam when it gave.

"I was looking at it before it happened and thinking, 'My God, I can't believe it's holding,'" he said. "I'd never seen the water that high before."

Minutes later, Dickerson heard the dam buckle. The next thing he knew, water was raging through a gap in the middle. He ran into the bar and called 911.

Olney Fire Department posted a crew to monitor the stability of the bridge on Martin Camp Road below the dam. Volunteer firefighters James Hutchison and Lance Torgerson watched the river rise about eight inches in an hour, but the water remained well below the bottom of the bridge.

The National Weather Service in Missoula issued a flash-flood warning, but no one was evacuated.

Also Saturday at Glacier National Park, Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche and Logan Pass remained closed because of midweek rock and mud slides triggered by heavy rain. Park visitors had the option of driving 15.5 miles from Glacier's west entrance to Avalanche, and 18.5 miles from the St. Mary entrance to Logan Pass.

On Friday, campers at Bowman and Kintla lakes in Glacier were evacuated because of flooding. Roads to both campgrounds were closed.