Officials rally to stop ice jams
Operation Flower Creek has commenced. For at least the next three days, excavators will travel up the channel and dig away ice formations which, for a short period of time today, stopped the creek from flowing into the Kootenai River. An excavator will stay stationed at the confluence to make sure the channel isn’t blocked, while other excavators will be stationed near the bridges. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
A hole, barely big enough to crawl through, is the only opening under the Balsam Bridge over Flower Creek. Libby Mayor Brent Teske, among other officials, named this the primary concern of all the bridges in Libby because it has the least amount of space for ice to flow underneath. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
An excavator works to break up the ice that’s built along the City Service Road on the Northwest side of Libby. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
Linda Shilling, of David Thompson Search and Rescue, acting as a foreman, supervising the excavators busting ice in Flower Creek along City Service Road on the Northwest side of Libby. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
Four excavators sat parked along Flower Creek on Wednesday next to the City Service Road on the Northwest part of town. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
Ice buildup in Flower Creek under one of the bridges on Second Street in Libby. (Bethany Rolfson/TWN)
Operation Flower Creek commenced on Tuesday, and all week excavators have been travelling up the channel to dig away ice formations which have, at intervals, stopped the creek from flowing into the Kootenai River.
“We’re trying to be proactive so we can avoid fighting a flood event,” Libby Mayor Brent Teske said while standing on one of the bridges on City Service Road.
After the rainfall on Wednesday night into Thursday, the water is rising, but Emergency Management Deputy Lisa Oedewaldt said the rain didn’t affect the conditions.
According to Teske, excavators from Noble Inc. and Thompson Contracting in Libby are working alongside city excavators along the channel.
Oedewaldt said that as of Thursday one excavator is sitting between second and BNSF catching ice, two worked between Second and Sixth Street, one sat inside Sixth Street, one worked in between Rosauers and Highway 2, one worked at the end of Cabinet Avenue, and one was stationed at the walking bridge in the Pioneer Park. Oedewaldt said that’s their minimum number of excavators, but more could come.
While Oedewaldt said on Thursday that she doesn’t know yet whether there’s a flood threat, the EMA has sandbags for people to come and grab.
Starting Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 at 8 a.m., the Task Force components met to draft a plan to be proactive in ice extraction in Flower Creek to avoid the possibility of ice jams.
The Flower Creek flood events may not happen every year in Libby, but they do cause extensive damage to surrounding homes. One woman said her husband watched their washing machine float in the basement.
The primary concern areas include the bridge over Balsam Avenue, or the Balsam Bridge. Sitting just a few feet from the water at all times, there isn’t much room for the ice to pass underneath.
Another primary concern are the bridges on the Northwest part of town, under Second Street and City Service Road. While this area has seen extensive flooding in the past, it’s also not easy to access with big equipment, Teske said. The windy stretch of the creek is surrounded by brush, making it the most time-consuming portion to dig up.
Along the creek near City Service Road on Wednesday, four excavators situated within 50 feet from each other, worked from early in the morning into the afternoon, as officials from David Thompson Search and Rescue acted as foremen. Other officials such as Teske and Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe checked in to see the progress.
The bridge that runs next to Rosauers has been known to flood in the past, and on Thursday water stopped running under the bridge.
The County and City of Libby are trying to be proactive in this event and ask that the public please not venture to the areas of work as it adds to the risk of the event.
Please watch the EMA Facebook Page for updates facebook.com/LC.EMA.MT.