The city of Bellevue is beginning to prepare for what could be a risky flood season when melting mountain snowpacks hit the Big Wood River. Other jurisdictions will likely be doing the same.
Blaine County is holding a series of meetings on flood preparedness starting on Wednesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. at the Minnie Moore Room at the Community Campus in Hailey.
“We know we are going to need several hundred sandbags to protect city infrastructure,” said Mayor Kathryn Goldman during a city council meeting on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Blaine County Disaster Services Coordinator Chris Corwin. Corwin said the current snowpack is close to what existed in 2017, when disastrous flooding impacted homes and property all along the Big Wood River, from Ketchum to Bellevue.
“The river is now only at half of what the Big Wood’s flows usually are,” Corwin said. “I am praying to the river gods that we have a nice, cool spring.”
The spring flood of 2017 resulted in river rescues, power outages and mandatory emergency evacuations. At least one person died as a result of the flooding. Town meetings were held to prepare for what experts knew would be a big flood, but unsteady temperatures impacting the snowpack at higher elevations added to the uncertainty that began with a National Weather Service flood watch in March.
By May 12, 2017, 22 homes in the Della View neighborhood of Hailey were under emergency evacuations.
The stream gauge near the Bullion Street bridge in Hailey recorded a depth of 7.73 feet on the morning of May 15, 2017, and 7.4 feet the next day. The record high of 7.93 feet was set on May 30, 1983, but the 2017 flood was remarkable for its duration. As late as June 28, Hailey residents were still boating to their homes and wading into flooded crawl spaces to assess damages.
Corwin said on Monday that Blaine County would not issue a disaster declaration and seek emergency funding until the Big Wood River hits flood stage in Hailey at 6 feet. He said the declaration would trigger matching state funds to cover flood impacts.
He added that other states in the region, as well as in the Midwest, will also be seeking disaster funding due to high snowpacks.
“Salt Lake City will be begging for sandbags,” he said.
The April 19 flood preparedness meeting will provide details on what to expect from city staffer and emergency service personnel, where to get sandbags, information on how to prepare before floods, and what to do during and after flooding.
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