Southern Idaho Counties Battle Flooding

Several towns across Idaho spent the weekend stacking sandbags and digging trenches as early season flooding began.

National Weather Service hydrologist Jay Breidenbach told the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/zgNcmG ) that while flooding peaked on Friday, the eastern half of the state is still dealing with high water from the runoff.

Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Richey said Sunday evening that his region had sheet flooding because of steady rain, and some state highways were covered in water. Richey said Monday that a lot of the flooding was occurring in the Ashton area. He said two residences in the county had water in the basement.

Bellevue Mayor Chris Koch said a deep permafrost in his central Idaho town meant that much of the runoff wasn’t absorbed into fields, instead flowing into Bellevue’s streets. Three homes flooded Friday, and by Sunday morning the town had 5 inches of snow.

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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com