3 counties added to Yellowstone floods disaster declaration

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (AP) - Federal authorities on Thursday added three more Montana counties to a presidential disaster declaration issued following last month's destructive floods around Yellowstone National Park.

The addition of Yellowstone, Treasure and Sweet Grass counties makes them eligible for federal grants for debris removal and repairs to public facilities. It was announced by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office.

Officials have documented almost $5 million in county government costs related to the floods that began June 12. That figure is expected to grow and is just a fraction of the overall damages.

Raging waters caused by heavy rain and a sudden mountain snowmelt caused damage to numerous roads, bridges, power poles and other infrastructure across southern Montana and in Yellowstone.