The Emergency Operations Center in Great Falls shared the following information just before 5 p.m. on Thursday:
FLOOD UPDATE! What an amazing and generous community we have. We are so grateful that it appears this flood event may pass with minimal affect and no injuries. The EOC team just received what is anticipated to be the last brief for this incident, here are the highlights.
The National Weather Service is reporting that the Missouri River is likely peaking now, at approximately 14.5 feet, and is expected to start receding within the next 12 hours. The Sun River is receding slowly but still moving out of the banks in several areas, leveling out in the flood plains.
At 5pm today, the Cascade County Flood Information Line at 406.455.8554 will become inactive; the Emergency Operations Center will be demobilized; the Red Cross shelter at New Hope Lutheran Church (3125 5th Ave S) will be put into “standby” mode. Persons affected by the flood, in need of emergency lodging, should call the non-emergency dispatch line (406.727.7688 X5) so Red Cross personnel can be contacted.
Continue to refer to the City/County Health Department website (http://www.cchdmt.org/) for flood information and to learn how to determine if well water is contaminated.
The high waters on the Missouri River and tributaries near Great Falls has led Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to close six fishing access sites:
- Willow Creek Reservoir, on the Rocky Mountain Front, west of Augusta,
- Big Bend, on the Missouri River, south of Great Falls
- Cottonwood Grove, on the Missouri River, south of Great Falls,
- Ulm Bridge, on the Missouri River, south of Great Falls
- Truly Bridge, on the Smith River near Ulm
- Largent’s Bend, on the Sun River near Vaughn
The sites have been gated and will remain closed until the flood waters recede, the area can be cleaned up and is deemed safe for recreation.
Due to the high flows and large amount of debris in the river, NorthWestern Energy on Wednesday evening removed steel spillway beams to open three bays at Black Eagle Dam. The move was intended to allow more water and debris to pass through the dam. Large amounts of debris can hinder dam operations.
The move to spill more water and debris at Black Eagle is not expected to have significant impact on the operations of the four NorthWestern dams below Black Eagle.
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