MISSOULA – Localized flooding continues to affect areas west of Missoula, mainly in the Orchard Homes neighborhood along Tower Street and Kehrwald Drive, which remain closed to through traffic.
The Tower Street trailhead also remains closed until further notice.
In Seeley Lake, localized flooding has been reported along Airport Road near Deer Park Drive; on C Street and Cabin Lane off the southern end of Boy Scout Road; along the bridge on the north end of Boy Scout Road, over the Clearwater River; and along Highway 83 south of town, just south of the Double Arrow Resort.
More sandbags are available to Seeley Lake residents as they deal with flooding. The Missoula Disaster and Emergency Services delivered 5,000 sandbags Wednesday.
The sandbags are available to the public on a first come, first serve basis. You can find the sandbags at SLRFD Station 1 located at 200 Fire House Drive just off A Street and at the Missoula County Satellite Office at SLRFD Station 2 north of Seeley.
County Commissioners will also sign an emergency proclamation regarding flooding at their administrative meeting Thursday at 10 a.m. in Room 206 of the Administration Building.
An emergency proclamation:
- Provides incident commanders in the field with the authority to close roads, prevent access to areas and order evacuations
- Allows the County to request resource from the state and other agencies, either through no cost mutual aid or through a contract for assistance
- Allows the County to submit a request to the governor for assistance from the National Guard
- Allows, in the case of flooding, for the County to request assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide technical assistance, protection of public infrastructure and/or provide sandbags to the County;
- Allows the County to start tracking the impacts to the County and its residents as part of the process for determining if local, state or federal disaster declaration is warranted, which would be required to access federal funding for efforts to address a disaster, as well as potential mitigation to prevent the next occurrance.
The county highly encourages residents affected by flooding to consume bottled water until they can verify their tap water is safe to drink. The Missoula City-County Health Department offers bacteriological testing of water samples Monday through Thursday for $15. Call 406-258-4755.
