Flood worries rising

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

As Frosty Greenfield watched the Coeur d'Alene River rise on Tuesday, he couldn't help but wish for cold nights ahead.

The National Weather Service has a flood warning until Thursday night for Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah, Bonner and Boundary counties.

"If we get below freezing at night that will help us because we won't get as much runoff," said Greenfield, Shoshone County public works director.

With the Coeur d'Alene River predicted to rise up to 2 feet above flood stage by Thursday, Greenfield and other emergency managers are bracing for flood conditions by making sure streams and rivers are flowing normally and warning residents in those areas to watch forecasts and take precautions.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has sent teams to the St. Joe and Coeur d'Alene river basins as rivers continue to rise.

The Corps will provide technical assistance to the city of St. Maries and monitor levees in the Coeur d'Alene basin. The agency also supplied a pump to Kootenai County for the Coeur d'Alene River.

The Corps was expected to arrive in those areas Tuesday night.

"The Corps has sent out teams of emergency responders who are familiar with the local conditions and the specific threats in the area," said Doug Weber of the Corps, adding that flood team members will be in the area until the flood threat has passed.

The Coeur d'Alene River at Cataldo was at 40.34 feet on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to reach the flood stage of 43 feet late this morning, according to the weather service. The river at Enaville was at 64.3 on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to reach 70.7 (more than a foot below flood stage) on Thursday.

The St. Joe River at St. Maries was at 29.74 on Tuesday afternoon. It’s predicted to reach flood stage of 32.5 this afternoon.

Isolated flooding has already started throughout the region.

The parking lot of the Conoco gas station near the Rose Lake interchange of Interstate 90 and a nearby field were flooded on Tuesday due to Fourth of July Creek overflow. Some residents along Riverview Drive south of the Spokane River and Post Falls pumped water from their properties. Water was over the road on portions of Hauser Lake Road.

"The ground is just saturated," said Sandy Von Behren, Kootenai County's Office of Emergency Management director. "Some people who haven't had flooding before are now experiencing it. With the rain that's still predicted, people should watch the forecasts and take precautions."

Von Behren said Latour Creek Road near Cataldo is always one of the areas hit first by flooding and will be monitored closely.

Lake Coeur d'Alene residents could experience minor flooding starting Monday due to the river conditions. They should be prepared to move items to higher ground if necessary, Von Behren said.

Michelle Becktel, Benewah County's OEM director, said some fields in the Riverdale area on the outskirts of St. Maries had flooding on Tuesday.

"With all the rain, it's just piling up in the fields," she said.

Sandbags are being stored at sites throughout the region in case they’re needed.

Emergency managers will also be watching for more mudslides such as the one that occurred on Fast Hill near Kingston on Friday and in Rockford Bay of Lake Coeur d'Alene last weekend.

Coeur d'Alene Press Meteorologist Randy Mann said more rain expected today will compound the flood threat. As of Tuesday afternoon, Coeur d'Alene had received 3.48 inches of precipitation in March, nearly doubling the normal for the entire month of 1.94 inches. This has been Coeur d'Alene's fourth-wettest winter in history, he said.

Mann said a brief break from the rain is expected on Thursday, but more is expected this weekend.

"The moisture ahead will only add to a situation that's already aggravated," Mann said. "Plus, we've still got a lot of snow in the mountains."