ABSAROKEE - Dump trucks dropped giant boulders along the Stillwater River banks near Absarokee Tuesday afternoon with hopes of limiting what has already been catastrophic damage from a massive spring flood.
Just a few feet away sits a home that Cole Deringer rents as the banks, hour by hour, continue to erode.
“This is kind of where I used to park my truck and you used to be able to drive a full car on the other side of that," Deringer explained to MTN News, pointing to a section of his yard no longer there. He estimated that 15 to 20 feet of land had washed away and disappeared into the river within the last several hours.
The National Weather Service believes this flooding is unprecedented in several areas, including Absarokee, which is suffering among the worst across Montana. The flood has submerged a number of nearby homes while the rushing river has washed out other bridges and highways here within the area.
Just a few days ago, heading into the weekend, a garage sat behind Deringer's place. It's gone.
“I used to have an ATV in there. I don’t know where it’s at now," Deringer said, gazing down the river. "There used to be a power pole about five or 10 feet away... that was, like, one of the first things to go."
