Minor flooding expected in Bayview this weekend

BAYVIEW — Water levels for Lake Pend Oreille at Bayview were forecast to hit minor flood stage by 11 p.m. Friday night, said Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management emergency preparedness coordinator Heather Miller on Friday afternoon.

National Weather Service data showed the lake at 2,063.39 feet Friday, just short of minor flood stage. NWS forecasted a steady rise in water levels through the coming week, reaching 2,064.87 feet on Friday, May 25 with no crest in sight, said Miller. That would put the water level just under the June 5, 1997, flood level of 2,065.74 feet but above the June 17, 2011, flood level of 2,064.29 feet.

OEM officials advise property owners to take action now. “Sand and sandbags are available at Timberlake Fire Station by the Community Center and in the Buttonhook Parking lot,” noted OEM on its Facebook page Thursday. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manual on sandbagging techniques is available online at bit.ly/sandbagLPO.

County commissioners enacted Resolution 2018-51 to temporarily make the portion of the lake in Kootenai County a no-wake zone until further notice, Miller said.

OEM has confirmed with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality that residents serviced by regulated public water systems in Bayview are not under a boil water advisory. There is no need to boil water in Bayview, Miller said.

Sign up for the county emergency notification system at oem.kcgov.us or at www.kcsheriff.com. OEM also posts regular updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Kootenai-County-Emergency-Management- 909932649166410, Miller said.