CLARK FORK — Residents are still feeling the effects of historic flooding that hit North Idaho and eastern Montana on Thursday.

In Clark Fork, flooding of Lightning Creek caused several road closures and a state of emergency to be declared by Bonner County. Residents said East Spring Creek Road was hit the hardest by the floods. As of Friday, the main route remains closed to the public, while safety crews work to repair the road. 

Cami Hartman, who lives on East Spring Creek Road, said crews were able to open a back road on West Spring Creek Road for trapped residents to be able to get out, but that it is very narrow and swampy. Hartman said she was concerned that residents may lose access to that road again, if flooding continues. 

According to Clark Fork Fire and Rescue, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken over the reconstruction of East Spring Creek Road. The organization is asking for those in the region to limit use of that road so it can be used for immediate emergency use. 

Hartman said she had never seen anything like the flooding, especially because it happened so fast. She said she was grateful to be able to get out because she lives off the grid and relies on the town for food for her children and farm animals.  

“It sounded like a train,” Hartman said of the initial floods, which began around 2 a.m. Thursday. “The damage was insane; there is a farm below us and it looked like Niagara Falls was running through there.” 

In addition to the road closures, Clark Fork’s main water line was washed away during the flood. Residents are encouraged to boil any tap water before use and can get potable water from a tank the city has placed in the parking lot of the Cabinet Bar and Grill.  

“The Clark Fork community is standing together and helping one another,” Clark Fork Principal Phil Kemink said. “But we are nervous for the next few days and keeping a close eye on the weather.”