Gianforte looks to include Flathead in disaster declaration
Robert Miller points back to his residence along Wagner Lane as he surveys flooding from the Flathead River on Tuesday, June 21. Miller measured 28 inches of standing water in some places near his property. He and five other residences at the end of Wagner Lane have chosen to stay through a pre-evacuation notice issued by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.(Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A U.S. Army Chinook flies over flooding along the Flathead River on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Dave Johnston and Ken Jarvis take photographs of the flooding along Wagner Lane on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A deputy with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office speaks with Verdell Jackson near Jackson's residence along Wagner Lane on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Robert Miller paddles a kayak away from his residence on Wagner Lane to survey flooding from the Flathead River on Tuesday, June 21. Miller measured 28 inches of standing water in some places near his property. He and five other residences at the end of Wagner Lane have chosen to stay through a pre-evacuation notice issued by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.(Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Sandbags are piled at the end of a driveway along Wagner Lane after a pre-evacuation notice was issued by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Robert Miller paddles out from his property on Wagner Lane to survey flooding from the Flathead River on Tuesday, June 21. Miller measured 28 inches of standing water in some places near his property. He and five other residences at the end of Wagner Lane have chosen to stay through a pre-evacuation notice issued by the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.(Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Two boats are tied in the flooded driveway of residences along Wagner Lane near the Flathead River on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Residents of Wagner Lane walk along the roadway surveying flooding from the Flathead River behind a roadblock set up by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Verdell Jackson stands in the backyard of his residence along Wagner Lane as floodwaters from the Flathead River rise up around his deck on Tuesday, June 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Fresh off a tour of the Flathead flooding situation, Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday said he was working to add Flathead County to a presidential major disaster declaration for Montana.
“Flathead County has the state’s full support should additional resources be needed as they respond to flooding,” Gianforte tweeted Tuesday, along with a photo of himself surveying the damage from a helicopter.
The initial declaration approved by President Biden last week includes areas affected by the historic flooding around Yellowstone Park in southwest Montana. Adding Flathead County to the existing declaration should expedite the process, said Paige Cohn with the Governor's Office.
According to the Governor’s Office, the federal aid that accompanies a major disaster declaration will supplement state and local resources being used to assist with the flooding response.
Rising water continued to threaten homes in low-lying areas around the Flathead Valley on Tuesday as river levels refused to budge out of flood stage.
Columbia Falls near the Flathead River remained under a flood warning, while low-lying areas of Lower Valley, the south end of River Road and areas in Evergreen stayed under an evacuation notice.
Audrey Walleser, with Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, said officials are actively monitoring the situation and that no new evacuations had been ordered since Monday.
The main river at Columbia Falls rose to 14.68 feet following a good dousing of rain Monday. It was projected to stay at the level through Saturday.
Flood stage at Columbia Falls is 13 feet, with moderate flooding occurring at 18 feet.
The Whitefish River was just below the 5-foot flood mark, with a gauge at Kalispell showing the water level at 4.91 feet Tuesday. At Bigfork, the Swan River rose to 6.16 feet — action stage.
Looking forward, “a lot will depend on the weather,” Walleser said about area river levels.
So far this month about 4.5 inches of precipitation has been recorded at the Glacier Park International Airport weather station — more than double the average.
All the rain and mountain run-off has Northwest Montana lakes pushing their limits, which is causing rivers to back up. Flathead Lake was just over the full pool level at 2,893.32 feet on Tuesday, while Whitefish Lake was about 2 feet over its typical high-water mark at an elevation of 3,002 feet. That level nearly matches the record high for Whitefish Lake, set in 1961.
“The city of Whitefish and Whitefish Lake Institute are receiving phone calls from lakefront homeowners very concerned about wake-induced shoreline erosion, and several homeowners have indicated water is now overtopping their retaining walls,” Cynthia Ingelfinger, science and education director at the Lake Institute, said in a media release. She encouraged boats to be mindful of their wake and stay far away from the shoreline.
Meanwhile, Walleser says residents in low-lying areas of the county need to stay ready for potential evacuations, and urged caution around the cold and fast rivers that are carrying a lot of debris.
“If you don’t need to be in the river, stay out of the river,” she warned.
The National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service shows that area water levels could trend down beginning this weekend as an extended period of dry and warm weather envelopes the Northern Rockies.
The National Weather Service predicts weekend highs in the 70s and 80s, with sunny skies.
