Rivers will reach flood stage

The Kootenai River will be at flood stage for four to eight weeks, according to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Upper Columbia senior water manager Joel Fenolio said at a Libby Dam public information meeting that the runoff forecast for this year is going to be bad at best.

Flood stage for the Kootenai River is at 1,764 feet and it was at 1,758 feet earlier this week.

Fenolio said worst-case scenario, the river could get between 1,770 to 1,775 feet.

The combination of slow snowmelt, heavy rain and snow have made it a historical year for runoff levels.

Mick Shea has been the Libby Dam project manager for 15 years. He said it is not business as usual this year at Libby Dam.

"What makes this year so unusual is the lower snow pack level has stubbornly held on at a time of the year when we should have seen melting," Shea said. "We can only control the amount of snowmelt above the dam."

The National Weather Service shows that the Coeur d'Alene River at Cataldo is expected to reach flood stage early Monday morning.

The river is expected to crest on Monday about a half a foot above flood stage and then drop below flood stage on Tuesday.

Residents along Lake Coeur d'Alene are not expected to see flood stage reached in the foreseeable future. Predictions indicate lake levels to only reach 2,130.16 feet in elevation by Wednesday, nearly 3 feet below flood stage.

The combination of late snowpack, warm temperatures and predicted rains are increasing the potential for flooding and damages across the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Visitors to the forest are urged to use caution and avoid creeks, streams and rivers across North Idaho. The levels of snowmelt and rain are also expected to cause damage to forest roads and trails due to the potential for washouts, rutting and generally muddy conditions.

"As this year's big snowpack melts we may need to implement temporary closures on some roads and trails due to unsafe conditions," said Jim Gebhardt, Forest Engineer for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. "We don't want to see anybody hurt, or worse, so it is critically important that people exercise caution and obey temporary road and trail closures when they encounter them."

Most forest roads in the higher elevations remain closed due to seasonal closures, but at lower elevations conditions will be monitored and additional closures may be required.

Members of the public are encouraged to contact their local Forest Service District offices to check the status of closures before venturing into the forest.

Boundary County emergency management incident commander Bob Graham said the average amount of water held behind Libby Dam is 5.8 million acre feet, and the dam is currently at 8.2 million acre feet. A per acre foot unit is one acre of water one foot deep.

"That is a major amount of water difference," Graham said.

What alarms Graham most is that flood damage within the farm community starts at 1,758 feet.

In 2002 when the flood waters rose to 1,758 feet, farmers had to endure $2 million worth of crop damage and the level was at flood stage for only a few days, according to Graham.

"This is extremely bad news for the community and that amount of water for that length of time will affect our farms like we have never seen before," Graham said. "There are 23,000 acres of farm land in the bottom of the valley."

Graham said he thinks the Moyie River will flood first and within a week or two with the Kootenai following shortly after.

County officials continue to monitor any potential flooding at Hayden Lake as well.

- Hagadone News Network