LINCOLN – Lincoln Fire officials say the floods in Lincoln are getting worse, and the Blackfoot River is rising as it picks up more water.
Zach Muse, Fire Chief for Lincoln Fire Rescue said its mostly the mid-elevation snow that is having the worst effect.
Areas of concern are Poorman Creek, which runs through the Stemple Pass area, and Lone Point.
Chief Muse said the water has even blown out culverts.
“It’s just everywhere. You can’t really just pick one spot that’s worse than the other,” said Muse.
Homeowner Bruce Adams lives up on Dalton Mountain Road.
“Culverts are plugged up. I’ve been trying to keep them unplugged, but there’s the driveway up above me, my cabin up there. He’s lost his driveway, and all the water is running into my yard. That’s why I’m filling sandbags try and salvage what I can out of the yard,” said Adams.
Adams said on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, “It’s about a 9, this year there is just so much snow that’s been melting and coming down.”
At Hooper Park, Muse directed the road sweepers to dump the sand they picked up there.
Volunteers and people like Bruce are using it to fill sandbags, there are about 30 yards of dirt that needs to be sandbagged.
Christina Hillyer, a Lincoln Resident volunteering to fill sandbags, said her home isn’t in trouble, but she wanted to help out her neighbors.
“We have a lot of elderly people that live here, and when the river came up, they aren’t able to get out and do this themselves, it’s just impossible,” said Hillyer.
Lincoln homeowners Mona and Marty Fitzgerald said they are fortunate enough to not have flooding at their home, but the flood water has left them without running water.
“We came here to offer some support, and fill some sandbags, and maybe help them out any way we can. It’s a small community, but I think we’re all here to help each other,” said Mona Fitzgerald.
Zach Muse said the Lincoln community would greatly appreciate it if anyone has some spare time to help fill sandbags for the Lincoln area.
The town of Lincoln is dealing with some area flooding, and an evacuation order has been issued for dozens of homes in Missoula.
Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue posted the following message on Facebook:
Unfortunately we are just beginning our flooding season here in the Upper Blackfoot. The worst part is we may have another month or more before it ends. We have a lot of our friends and neighbors that are being affected as we speak. And I’m sure a lot more to come. If we could get people to help out their community filling sandbags and getting them ready so folks can spend a little more time trying to save their property it and stacking them around their homes, it would be hugely appreciated. I have sand at fire station 3 east of town and just got the county to dump all the road sweepings at Hooper Park to use for sandbags. I have tons of bags. Just need people to help fill them. The preferred place would be station 3 so we could put them away at night so we make sure they are going to those in need and have them staged on pallets ready for pick up and easily moved around. Please let me know if you can spare some time. Thanks. 841/Zach
