It may have been cold, wet, and nasty in the Flathead Valley this last week, but it was twice as nasty on the North Fork.

All in all, that has been a good thing for the river. Although the river is muddy and running nearly bank-full, there has been no flood damage. The threat of flooding is not over, merely postponed. There's still a lot of snow in the high country, but I remain confident that we will not have major flooding unless we have heavy warm rain. The cold rain of the week is supposed to be replaced this week with warming temperatures and little rain. Hopefully, although the river will be high, we will have little damage.

The rain did have an affect on the North Fork Road. The remaining guard rail at the Hart slump fell into the river but, so far, there is no loss of roadway.

The slumps on Wurtz Hill have not changed in the last two weeks. The road up the hill remains very rough but passable, with 100 yards or so open only to one-way traffic.

The toughest stretch is from Joe Franchini's place north to the international border. I would call Karen Lake, which lies across the road, impassable for passenger cars and barely passable with a four-wheel-drive. It's so bad that the mail carrier doesn't go past Franchini's.

North of Karen Lake from Sullivan's to Kelly, the road is muddy under the surface with spots where there's no bottom. Jan and Alice Caldwell found that out the hard way. They found a soft spot just 100 yards past Sullivan's driveway, and their pickup dropped into it up to the vehicle's frame.

While Alice walked a mile up the road to McDonough's for help, Jan stayed with the vehicle digging mud out from under it. Between the digging and Gary McDonough pulling with his four-by-four, they managed to get back on solid ground. They may not visit McDonough's for a few weeks, and I suggest others avoid visiting, too.

The North Fork Landowners Firewise Committee will host a firewise workshop at Sondreson Hall on June 11. This year, the workshop will focus on insects and disease and how they affect fire behavior. James Barnett will discuss the effects of dead and dying trees on wildfires in the morning, and Ken Gibson, a retired Forest Service entomologist, will do a presentation on insects and disease that currently affect the North Fork.

After a brown bag lunch, participants are invited to go on a field trip with Mr. Gibson. Be at the hall, with a lunch, at 9 a.m. to get your questions answered and find out what you can do to protect your trees and property. The North Fork has been a Firewise Community since 2006, educating, informing and protecting private property owners.