Idaho Falls Civic Center still recovering after May’s flood

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The flooding in Idaho Falls on May 23 left a lot of homes damaged with insurance companies denying claims.

The City of Idaho Falls is in a similar situation with the Civic Auditorium.

About 8 p.m. on May 23, city staff responded to the Civic Center and found over five feet of water had breached the outside door and flowed into the facility basement. The city says while they had city staff on-site extracting the water, they determined they would need more help, and a restoration company was called in.

The city says they turned in a claim for the restoration costs to their insurance company, ICRMP, but it was "denied as an act of God and determined not to be covered."

The emergency restoration services and the salvageable content cleaning came to a total of $123,636.91.

The Civic Auditorium's orchestra pit lift was also damaged. The cost to replace it will be $232,000.

The Idaho Falls City Council will vote on the repair costs at its meeting on August 24.