While the residents of south Lincoln County keep their eyes to the sky, hoping they don’t see a repeat of last week’s record-setting rainfall, officials continue to monitor weather forecasts as well as one of the old water supply reservoirs near Libby.

Over the weekend, county officials held public meetings in Libby and Troy in an attempt to provide information about bridge and road damages and to dispel confusion and misinformation on social media.

The condition of reservoirs and dams in both communities were hot topics of conversation at both gatherings.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch Sunday evening through Wednesday afternoon related to the potential failure of the Lower Flower Creek structure, which could result in flooding of certain areas in Libby. 

For Libby’s old water supply reservoir, also referred to as the Lower Flower Creek Diversion Structure, engineers decided the safest course of action is a controlled release of water to reduce pressure on the structure, particularly with additional rain forecasted. They described the action as a “risk mitigation operation, not an emergency response.”

The controlled release began Sunday and will last through Tuesday, the county Health Department said.

The announcement was made on the Lincoln County Health Department’s Facebook page, at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14. County officials decided the social media channel was the best place to share information as well as the CodeRED emergency alert.

The announcement further explained the release from the reservoir.

“The planned release is expected to be less than peak flows experienced last week. Current modeling indicates that water should remain within the stream bank, however residents in nearby areas should pay attention to changing stream conditions.  

“Emergency services will be monitoring the situation and be notifying anyone affected by this change over CodeRED emergency alert and Facebook.”

The structure was damaged in last week’s flooding on Thursday, Dec. 11. Prior to Saturday’s meeting, Lincoln County Emergency Operations said in a press release that a low spot on the earthen embankment was breeched for roughly 12 hours on Thursday, Dec. 11, which resulted in moderate damage to the dike.

"At this time, the Lower Flower Creek Diversion Dam does not appear to be at risk of imminent failure," the agency stated in a press release Saturday morning. "The site will continue to be closely monitored.”

If conditions change, the release stated, response teams are prepared to intervene with heavy equipment.

There are no concerns with the larger Flower Creek Dam upstream, which was built in 2015, the agency stated.

“There are no signs of damage, it is intact and is in great shape,” county Sheriff Darren Short said about the newer dam.

The older reservoir, which is located 1 1/2 miles from Libby, is heavily silted and Short said that would slow the flow if the dike failed.

Troy Mayor T.J. Boswell explained the safety devices on the Lake Creek Hydroelectric Dam, run by Northern Lights.

“Northern Lights crews inspected the dam and it has no structural damage,” Boswell said. “The water did get close to the top, but it didn’t go over. The dam has seismic meters and water flow sensors, which alert us to what is happening.”

Officials are also in the process of assessing the damage of massive, historic flooding.

In addition, a Type 3 Incident Management Team took over operations Monday morning. Ken Parks is the Incident Commander. Parks is the Deputy Department of Emergency Services Coordinator for Missoula County Office of Emergency Management and Incident Commander for the Western Montana All Hazard Incident Management Team.

Parks worked for 23 years with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Wildland Fire Suppression.

“They are from Western Montana and they were hand-picked to lead this team,” Short said. “Some of them worked the flooding in Red Lodge and Gardiner in 2022. They’ve got a lot more experience in working these situations and we welcome their assistance.”

Red Cross has a shelter set up in Libby’s Memorial Center. Saturday, two people had opted to go there.

Emergency declarations have been made at the local, county and state levels. A federal designation will be determined on the amount of damages.

The boil water order for Libby residents will remain in effect, likely through this week.

The concern for the city’s water supply deals with potential bacterial contamination in the drinking water system. Residents were advised to boil water for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing dishes.

The county issued the following road closure and bridge update on Dec. 13. 

Libby

- Farm to Market (Lauer Lane to Swede Mountain) bridge is out;

- Granite Creek Road (Charles Avenue to Highland Drive) Cherry Creek bridge is out;

- Upper Cherry Creek and Poor Man Road is washed out; 

- The Lower Granite Creek bridge is out;

- The Libby Creek Road is washed out 

- The West Fisher Creek Road bridge is washed out at Lake Creek;  

- The Champion Haul Road has a washout;

- The Lower Quartz Creek Bridge has been inspected and cleared for travel; 

- The 8 Mile Libby Creek Bridge is out;

- The Libby Creek to Ramsey bridge is out 

- The Lower Flower Creek Reservoir access road needs repair;

Troy

The bridge on Lake Creek Road is out;

The Ross Creek bridge is open but there may be debris and mud on the road; 

- The levy on Callahan Creek is washed out and the St. Regis Road is closed to public travel.

Yaak

- The 17 Mile Bridge on Yaak River Road is closed. Motorists are advised to use the Eastside Road.

Officials also said they are monitoring likely sites for potential land slides and that getting bridges replaced and roads fixed could take several months, possibly as long as 18 months for some bridges, depending on ownership and damages.

“Each entity, Forest Service, the county and state, will have to come up with the money to replace or repair the roads and bridges damaged in the flooding,” Short said.

    A section of the Libby Creek walking path near Fifth Street Extension in Libby was washed out following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    A Thompson Contracting employee moves riprap onto a stream bank on Lake Creek on the Chase Cutoff outside of Troy following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    The Big Cherry Creek bridge on Granite Creek Road near Libby was one of the casualties following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    A tree remains stuck on a bridge support on Libby Creek near Fifth Street Extension following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    Debris and downed trees are strewn throughout Big Cherry Creek following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    Members of David Thompson Search and Rescue hand out bottled water to residents in need Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at the Memorial Center in Libby. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
  

    A line of sandbags still guards Granite Creek Road near the Big Cherry Creek bridge south of Libby following a massive flood that affected south Lincoln County Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)