Rain Speeds Up Snowmelt, ‘Epic’ Flooding In Fremont County
With the snow melting faster than before, flooding is still an issue in Fremont County. A flood warning will continue through the weekend.
Keith Richey, Fremont County Emergency Management coordinator, said Friday that there was a quarter inch of rain in the Ashton area since 5 p.m. Thursday night and as a result, the snowmelt has been accelerated.
“The ground seems to be thawing out and absorbing water; even with the additional precipitation water levels are about the same as observed Thursday night around 8 p.m.,” Richey said. “This is leading to reports of water working its way into basements and crawl spaces.”
Richey said several people have called to offer help in sandbagging operations, but at this time no residents have requested sandbags.
High runoff in the Chester area prompted several road closures.
County emergency response crews say the amount of flooding is causing these roads to collapse and that they haven’t seen flooding like this in years.
“The last big event we had was in 2007 and that was in the Ashton area. The flooding we’re seeing now is of epic proportions, we haven’t seen it like this before,” said Richey on Thursday.
Homeowners affected by the flooding are encouraged to use sandbags to create a channel for the water around their home to flow through. Crews say while there has been little damage to private property, it’s better to be prepared.
“What we’re limited to doing right now is just letting the water run its course. We are keeping a close eye on the roads and we are keeping a close eye on the homes nearby,” said Richey.
In the meantime, crews say it’s best to avoid driving through areas in the county where there are high flood levels. The flooding is expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Fremont County Commission Chairman Skip Hurt recently issued a disaster declaration for Thursday night.
If you live in Fremont County and need help because of flooding, contact emergency crews at (208) 403-8821. Richey said property owners with damage need to contact their insurance agent for cleanup and restoration
