Flooding in Montana, February 7 to 15, 1996

For Deer Lodge County, in the Anaconda area, flooding restricted to mainly personal property damage. 15 damaged homes, 4 public buildings, heavy damage to roads and culverts. One bridge destroyed and 3 damaged, with some septic systems and wells flooded. The Red Cross reported 4 single family dwellings had minor damage. For Granite County, 4 homes damaged. Red Cross reported 1 single family dwelling in Drummond had minor damage. For Missoula County, the county has been upgraded to declaration of disaster. 120+ homes damaged from flooding, 20-25 uninhabitable, 6 public buildings damaged, 1 bridge destroyed with several roads damaged, possible danger to wells contaminating, 50-100 ranchers affected from the flooding. Ice jams broke on the Black Foot and Clark Fork Rivers, as well as Lolo Creek with extensive flooding. Home along the Black Foot River was completely taken off its foundation from the ice jam break. Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River had $125,000 damage to due the ice jam. For Ravalli County, 100 homes with water damage mainly in Stevensville and Victor areas. $300,000 damage to county roads due to flooding, $210,000 damage to private property due to flooding, plus $72,000 damage to privatedly owned bridges due to associated ice jams on the Bitterroot River. 7 business buildings affected from flooding. For Lincoln County, flooding and mudslides caused Highway 37 to be closed between Libby and Eureka, as well as Highway 200 to close 12 miles south of Libby to Happy Inn. A 16 mile long ice jam broke loose on Feb. 8th, causing extensive flooding on Flower Creek in the Libby area with many homes, one tavern, and one restaurant flooded, and hundreds of trees downed. The Red Cross reported for the Libby area, 1 single family dwelling home destroyed, 59 having minor danage, and 26 apartments having minor damage for a total of 86 units affected. Flooding on Granite Creek swept one house downstream. For Powell County, accumulated damage includes 15 damaged homes in and near Deer Lodge, 4 public buldings, heavy damage to roads and culverts, 1 bridge destroyed and 3 damaged. For Lake County, one home 5 miles northwest of Polson had minor flooding in basement. Many county roads throughout the county were flooded and need rebuilding. For Sanders County, Highway 200 from Plains to Thompson Falls was closed due to flooding from a ice jam about 12-15 miles long on the Clark Fork River. Ice jam broke and caused hundreds of trees to be downed and to flow over Thompson Falls Dam. $50,000 damage to the dam. 100+ damaged homes in the Thompson Falls area from flooding and mudslides with 75-120 displaced families and very heavy damage to roads and bridges. Approximately twenty-one miles of a forest access road is reported to be damaged. Two train derailments, one at Heron and another at Plains, from washouts of railways; multiple road and culvert damage including minor bridge damage. Wells were contaminated. Red Cross reported 1 home destroyed; 22 with major damage; 53 with minor damage for a total of 73 units affected. Declaration of disaster for Thompson Falls, Hot Springs and Plains areas. $250,000 in damage. Status of Declaration: The President issued a declaration of major disaster for the state of Montana February 23, 1996 (FEMA-1105-DR). The original declaration provided public and hazard mitigation assistance for the following counties: Lincoln, Sanders, Missoula, Ravalli, and Deer Lodge. Powell and Mineral Counties were added on March 22, 1996.