MISSOULA — Missoula's storm recovery has largely shifted to debris management and efforts to restore power in small pockets of the valley, county officials said Tuesday.
And while the state declared a disaster in Missoula County last week, it has not asked for a federal declaration resulting from the storm.
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"That is what could provide FEMA funds to local government to cover the costs of addressing public infrastructure issues the storm caused," said Allison Franz, the county's communications director.
The county this week stood up its Western Montana All Hazards Incident Management Team to aid in the recovery efforts. Its briefing Tuesday included a forecast of potential heavy rain, though portions of the storm haven't come to fruition, including another round of wind and lightning.
“But the rain could be a problem for folks related to stormwater in the city, as storm drains are blocked from leaves and debris that have come down,” said County CAO Chris Lounsbury. “We'll continue to see debris management through the weekend, probably into late next week.”
On Tuesday, residents in Clinton are expected to lose power temporarily as energy crews work to clear debris on power lines brought down by Tuesday's rain. Other pockets of the Missoula Valley also remain without power nearly a week after last week's storm.
“There are about 40 to 70 customers out in the Mullan-Kona area who will be without power at least through Wednesday as Missoula Electric Coop not only replaces poles, but all the line running to that area,” Lounsbury said. “But we're largely at this point down to pockets of outages. Largely, distribution wise, the network is back up and distributing power.”
Other efforts are also shifting gears. The United Way of Missoula County has established a volunteer system to help residents in need. Ice and water distribution are expected to end on Tuesday and the city is working to collect debris.
“The city continues to open and close debris sites as quickly as they can, getting them filled and empty,” Lounsbury said.
