A logjam created by last spring’s high runoff continues to pose problems on the Stillwater River in Evergreen.

Flathead County Fire Service Area Manager Lincoln Chute told county commissioners that the logjam, located behind Valley Ford, has grown in the last several months.

Last summer, Chute cut parts of the jam up, trying to get enough debris loose that it would break apart and move downstream.

The jam is now about 150 feet wide, 12 feet tall and 40 feet thick, he said. “I don’t have a saw big enough to cut through it.”

Chute met with county Road and Bridge Supervisor Ovila Byrd to evaluate if an excavator could be taken to the site to yank the jam apart.

“Ovila says we can get an excavator in there,” Chute said.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry supports removing the jam, too, Chute said.

A kayak that got stuck in the jam last summer still is trapped in it, he said. Curry is worried that there could be boating accidents on the river this summer if the jam isn’t removed.

The work can’t occur until the county obtains a permit from Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which has been applied for, Chute said.

Some property owners in the area have voiced their worries to Chute about the potential for flooding this spring if the jam remains in place.

Chute also reported that nine county fire departments sent personnel and trucks to Browning earlier this month to help battle a fast-moving fire. No county money was spent in the mutual aid effort, he said.

“They were grateful,” Chute said of Browning firefighters. “They had a real mess.”

Commissioners heard about other emergency services issues, too.

County officials may be getting closer to having a communications tower placed on Mount Aeneas, county Office of Emergency Services Director Scott Sampey said.

He and other county emergency services employees are to meet with representatives of the Forest Service this week to continue discussing the county’s request for a permit to put a tower on a site already leased to Optimum.

Optimum officials have agreed to share the site. The county and Optimum have shared sites elsewhere.

County officials say Mount Aeneas is the best site for a 4-foot antenna to ensure reliable radio communication for emergency services in the Lakeside, Somers and Bigfork areas.

The two groups have met previously about the issue, but no decision has been made by the Forest Service on the county’s request.

Chute also said that Plum Creek has agreed to donate land near Ashley Lake where a fire station will be built.

The fire service area has the money to pay for the two-stall building, he said.

Once the building is constructed and equipped, the Marion Fire District intends to annex most of the Ashley Lake properties into that district, Chute said.

“It’s a real win-win,” he said. Having Marion respond to calls will shorten response time and could reduce fire insurance costs to homeowners, he said.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.