MISSOULA – Officials are warning residents not to become complacent as warm temperatures and precipitation are expected to push rivers to dangerous levels again in the coming days in Missoula.
Multiple agencies emphasized a similar point during a Monday evening at Hawthorne Elementary School — everyone needs to remain vigilant and prepare for the river to swell again by the end of this week.
There are no new evacuation orders as we head into this week but officials are cautioning that may change as the Clark Fork River is expected to rise back into major flood stage later this week.
Meanwhile, there are resources now in Missoula if you want to take steps to protect your property in affected areas.
The US Army Corp of Engineers has 100 thousand sandbags en-route to Missoula and you can find them now out at Fort Missoula where the main sandbagging operation is now located. If you stop by the sandbagging area at Fort Missoula, there is an example of how to properly stack sandbags.
“We hope to see you guys out there, so we can get you all prepped and ready. We have the sandbags. We do need more volunteers sandbagging as well," said Alex Schwier with Team Rubicon. "But…we were turning away drivers…because we didn’t have anywhere for them to go. So, prep now, so that we’re super busy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.”
Team Rubicon is asking that homeowners in the affected area get in touch with them and give them your name and phone number, address, and they can check on you even if you don’t need sandbags.
An evacuation order is in effect for the following areas:
- Tower Street, north of 3rd Street
- Kehrwald Drive
- Channel Drive
- Nancy Lou Drive
- Keck Street and Stone Street – north of Flamingo Drive
- Schmidt Road
- Off Mullan Road
- South Harpers Bridge Road
- Hamel Road
- Underneath Reserve Street Bridge
