Stillwater hits flood stage
Garry Stansberry
Stansberry climbs to the roof of his home to survey the flood waters. Floods are a regular occurrence for Stansberry, who has lived there for the past 40 years.
Flood waters from Trumbull Creek cover the property of Garry Stansberry on Tuesday morning west of Columbia Falls. Stansberry said his garage already had four inches of water in it. Several friends and neighbors already stopped by to check on Stansberry, who experienced similar flooding last year and previous years.
Bags and sand are now available to Evergreen residents who are experiencing flooding from the Stillwater River.
The materials are available at the Evergreen fire station on U.S. 2, according to Scott Sampey, director of the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services. County employees hauled bags and sand to the fire hall on Tuesday, he said.
Sheriff Chuck Curry said sandbags were being placed along the Stillwater River near the former location of Kari Dodge in Evergreen on Tuesday afternoon.
Sampey reminded county residents that sandbags are not being made available to everyone in the county. “We’d run out fast if we did that,” he said.
As conditions warrant, bags and sand will be made available to people who are in areas where flooding occurs, he said. The county is distributing the bags and sand at no charge. However, people can purchase bags at various businesses, Sampey said.
Sandbags are pegged to first be used to protect infrastructure, he said, and then communities. But they will only be made available to the public in areas where people are directly affected by flooding.
A flood warning “until further notice” for the Stillwater River has been issued by the National Weather Service.
The Stillwater is expected to be slightly above its flood stage of 7.5 feet for at least the next 10 days, according to Weather Service hydrology forecasts. The Stillwater currently is at 7.7 feet.
“The Stillwater right now is the most imminent concern,” Curry said after flying over the Flathead Valley on Tuesday afternoon.
Flooding from the Stillwater also has been reported along Farm to Market Road.
Floodwaters from Logan Creek remain standing in Star Meadow, which Sampey said was completely under water early Tuesday afternoon.
Flooding occurs nearly every year on Ashley Creek and on Trumbull Creek near Columbia Falls, Sampey said, but this year those two creeks probably will flood to a greater extent.
Trumbull Creek already is flooding low areas along U.S. 2 west of Columbia Falls.
Sampey’s office now has established a flood hotline.
People can call 758-2111 to hear recorded information about what streams or rivers are flooding, flood watches or warnings, any evacuations that might take place, where sandbags are available and online resources about flooding.
The hotline will be updated as necessary, Sampey said. “If there’s a lot going on, we’ll update it several times a day. Sometimes it might not get updated for a couple of days.”
Also this week, the United Way will be in Bigfork for training on sandbagging at Sliters hardware store today at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m.
Organizers have found that two people can fill about 90 bags in one hour. But organizers saw a greater need, so they purchased a mechanical sandbagger that can fill about 1,600 in one hour.
The United Way is seeking volunteers for sandbagging and other duties such as directing traffic.
Reporters Eric Schwartz and Jim Mann contributed to this story.
Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.