Residents of flooded areas spent Tuesday pumping water and cleaning up after three days of massive rains spawned localized flooding in Northwest Montana.

Homes along U.S. 2 west of Columbia Falls were inundated by floodwaters from Trumbull Creek.

Diana Waldheim, who got help protecting her homes with sandbags, was using a pump Tuesday afternoon to clear water from her flooded driveway along U.S. 2.

Water levels were expected to slowly recede Tuesday.

Jessica McDonald, Flathead County’s emergency planner, estimated that more than 25 homes had been affected by flooding.

She said structures had been flooded in the Trumbull Creek area as well as in the North Fork area on Lake Drive, Rabe Road and Blankenship Road.

Contrary to earlier reports, there was no damage to Trumbull Creek Road, she said.

County emergency operations manager Lincoln Chute said flooding had significantly damaged Rabe Road and Lake Drive, but no roads had washed out and both were passable Tuesday.

Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Janette Turk said floodwaters substantially damaged Canyon Creek Road, which serves as a connector between the North Fork Road and the Spoon Lake area.

The North Fork Road reopened Tuesday morning after being closed by high water and debris since Monday morning. Justun Juelfs, the Kalispell division maintenance chief for the Montana Department of Roads, said about 1,500 feet of the road’s shoulder had been washed away.

With two exceptions, roads that were closed Monday by flooding were reopened Tuesday.

“We have opened up all the county roads with advisory signs that there may be water on the road,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said.

The main road along the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir remains closed while Flathead Forest workers continue to clear debris that blocked the road Monday.

In Glacier Park, a natural log jam broke above Going-to-the-Sun Road on Tuesday, unleashing logs, boulders, mud and other debris, knocking out a concrete barrier and prompting officials to close the road about two miles past Apgar to all vehicle traffic.

Park spokesman Tim Rains said crews were still determining the extent of the damage to the road and two culverts Tuesday afternoon, and did not know how soon the road would reopen.

“From what I understand, it was a significant amount of force, a significant amount of water, enough to break a log jam and knock out that concrete barrier,” he said.

The road had been closed on Monday by water overflowing a culvert.

The National Weather Service warned Tuesday that the heavy rain and melting snow will keep runoff high coming out of the mountains of Flathead, Lincoln, Sanders, Lake and Missoula counties the next few days.

The Weather Service said the added soil moisture likely will result in minor rock and debris slides in steep areas.

“U.S. Forest Service roads and other unimproved routes may experience surface washouts with water overflows,” the weather agency warned. “Drivers using affected roads are encouraged to use caution and pay attention to signage and possible closures.”

Despite the rainfall, major rivers are not approaching flood stage.

The mainstem Flathead River, which rose 2 1/2 feet Saturday and Sunday, is expected to remain just under 11 feet through this week. Flood stage is 13 feet.

More than 6 inches of rain have fallen in the past three days in the Canyon and North Fork areas, with lesser amounts of rain elsewhere in Northwest Montana.

Rainfall totals from the previous 72 hours as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, as measured by the National Weather Service:

Coram    6.54 inches             

Martin City    5.75 inches             

Hungry Horse 5.48 inches       

West Glacier 4.61 inches                     

Olney    3.08 inches              

Blacktail     2.58 inches             

Bigfork    2.34 inches                    

Essex    2.30 inches              

Creston    1.94 inches              

Swan Lake    1.81 inches             

Polebridge    1.70 inches             

Kila    1.54 inches          

Polebridge    1.49 inches             

Marion    1.33 inches                

Kalispell    1.17 inches              

Evergreen    1.02 inches