RED LODGE - Volunteer crews worked on homes along Platt Avenue South in Red Lodge over the weekend.
And it's not only the community of Red Lodge but the community outside of Red Lodge also is helping. David Koch picked up the equipment after the bucket brigade took out water and dirt from basements on Friday.
"Red Lodge is in a cleanup phase where everything that's been destroyed and come out of the houses are being loaded into side dumps and into end dumps," Koch said. "And that's really what the town needs, now."
Koch was in Big Sky, at his job with Langlas. His company allowed him to return to his home in Red Lodge.
"I definitely had moments where I needed to pull myself away from the crews so that I can take a moment to try to hold it together," Koch said. "And to let a little bit go to let some tears go. You know, there's a lot of people that lost a lot, but there's a huge amount of people that have come together to to help."
Volunteers cleared a large pile of dirt from the yard at one home and on Saturday, they cleared the basement.
"His basement had about six feet of flooding in it," said volunteer Brianna Moore. "So we're just kind of getting anything out that we can get out. Everything out that we can get out."
Moore — who lives in Billings — is one of several who came in to work through the Red Lodge Area Community Foundation.
"Montana has such a neighborhood feel anyway no matter if you're, you know, six hours away or half an hour away," Moore said. "So coming out and helping wherever is needed is much much rewarding."
Around 40 players from the MSU Bobcats football team came to Red Lodge.
"We have one young man from Red Lodge on our team," said Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen. "We have another one coming this next year. A couple guys on our our squad their their uncle is the head football coach and Superintendent here. You know I just told our guys, this is your hometown. You'd want people out there help and so a great response from our team and we're excited to be here today."
It looks like the team did not send out a news release and was just doing it to help and not for the attention. And as with many college coaches, it provided another opportunity in guiding young men.
"The support we get is amazing from across our state," Vigen said. "So to be able to give back however we can whether that's in Bozeman or like this here in Red Lodge, I think it's something that our guys appreciate understand and love doing."
Those living in the flooded homes welcomed help from the volunteers.
"We're all neighbors and we all work in this community and see each other every single day so there wasn't a question about who should be where," said Alisha Beekman. "We should be all hands on deck. I know that all those of us that are flooded are very appreciative."
"The help that Red Lodge has given me and the help that I've received from everyone is what gets me up in the morning right now," said Taylor Monfort.
