Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short has described the recent flooding in south Lincoln County as an on-going situation.

With more rain and high winds in the forecast this week, he and other officials are urging that residents remain aware and take precautions to avoid the dangers that currently exist.

Residents can stay informed in a number of ways.

The decision was made to issue alerts through the CodeRED system and the Lincoln County Health Department’s Facebook page. 

CodeRED is a web-based service that allows emergency personnel to contact residents with up-to-date alerts via email, text message, voice calls or mobile phone app notifications.

A cyberattack in November affected the service, but it is operating again after work by county Emergency Management Agency Director Boyd White. For those who signed up before March 31, 2025, no action is needed but those who registered after that date need to register again.

To sign up, residents can do so at https://accountportal.onsolve.net/lcema.

The county is also providing information on its Health Department Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LincolnMThealth).

Another place for information is the county’s Emergency Operations Center. It’s number is 406-293-6295.

Short again urged caution and asking residents to avoid driving on roads that may have been affected. Short himself had an experience where he drove up a road to put “Road closed” signs. When he returned the way he had driven, he noticed a section of road where the soil had washed out underneath the pavement.

“That’s why I strongly urge people to be very careful where they are traveling on roads we’ve identified as affected. There are also Forest Service roads that are washed out and we expect to see more,” Short said.

Jesse Haag, the county Planner and local Floodplain administrator, also shared a story of how quickly conditions have changed.

“We were at the Keeler Bridge assessing it and before we left, it blew out and we had to take another way out,” Haag said. “The streams have dropped, but we’re not sure how the rain will affect things. It’s not the time to put our guard down yet.”

Kootenai National Forest officials also shared a similar message on their Facebook page.

“The rapid increase in rainfall on top of snow in the higher elevations has resulted in localized flooding and increased the risk of landslides, debris flows and downed trees across the Forest. 

They offered safety reminders for visitors to the Forest:

- Avoid hazard areas: stay clear of flooded roads, streams and burned areas. Burned areas have an increased likelihood of landslides, mudslides and debris flows due to the lack of vegetation and unstable soil.

- Due to the excess moisture, road and streambank edges are extremely soft and potentially unstable. Be alert for any slumping or sliding and avoid edges.

- Falling trees: Heavy rainfall saturates the soil, making it softer and loosens the grip of a tree’s root system. This can lead to downed trees along roads, trails, rivers, and recreation sites. 

- Use caution when driving on forest roads for any potential, unknown road washouts.

- Streams and rivers are still flowing at high rates. Please use extreme caution.

For more information or to report a washout, please contact the appropriate Forest Office.

- Cabinet Ranger District-Trout Creek, MT 406-827-3533

- Libby Ranger District-Libby, MT 406-293-7773

- Rexford/Fortine Ranger District-Eureka, MT 406-296-2536

- Three Rivers Ranger District-Troy, MT 406-295-4693

- Kootenai Supervisor's Office-Libby, MT 406-293-6211