Extreme weather pattern continues to impact Libby, Lincoln County

Less than a week after an unprecedented atmospheric river brought catastrophic floodwaters to northwest Montana, continued extreme weather including high winds on Wednesday have slowed some recovery efforts and knocked out power to residents. 

“Libby, I mean, they’ve got, boy, you know, every single issue that weather could throw at them,” Trent Parker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told the Daily Montanan on Thursday. 

Flooding in Lincoln County last week compromised at least nine bridges, leading to 40-mile detours for some residents of Libby and Troy and increasing the risk of rock and landslides throughout the northwest. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte issued an executive order declaring a flooding disaster in northwestern Montana, allowing general fund money to be spent on disaster relief efforts. 

Nick Holloway, public information officer for the Western Montana Type 3 All Hazard Incident Management team that took command of the flood incident on Monday, said the state emergency declaration has helped open up resources and that state disaster personnel are on the ground working in tandem with the incident management team.

“We’re here helping people — life safety is our primary focus, and incident stabilization is our secondary focus,” Holloway said. 

However, additional extreme weather this week, this time in the form of high winds across the state, have stressed recovery efforts. Statewide, more than 60,000 customers lost power, according to Northwestern Energy and Flathead Electric Coop, due to downed trees and powerlines. 

According to the FEC outage map, more than 3,000 customers in the Libby area and along Montana Highway 2 remain without power after more than 24 hours, even as crews have worked to restore power to thousands more customers throughout the region.  

“Normally with power outages in a county or jurisdiction, mutual aid could come in and help,” Holloway said. “That’s not helping here, because it’s a region-wide event. There’s no additional resources.”

On Tuesday, Gianforte and the state’s federal delegation also requested a presidential disaster declaration from President Donald Trump, and requested assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. 

Holloway said there has been no update from the federal government yet, but if it comes through it would open up additional, needed resources. 

A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to a question about the federal ask on Thursday. 

With the wind event following extreme rain and flooding, the ground throughout Lincoln County is saturated with water, which Holloway said is slowing the repair process.

“It’s hard to get poles to stand straight in this kind of weather,” he said. “And we expect more trees to come down that were weakened during the worst of the wind but didn’t fall. They don’t need as heavy of a wind to come down now.”

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for the Kootenai/Cabinet region from 11 p.m. Thursday through 8 a.m. Friday.

Emergency personnel urge all residents of the area to be careful parking cars near trees and going anywhere on foot, in case of further gusts that knock down trees. Residents are advised to stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines and treat any power line as live. 

Holloway also said residents can haul debris to the Lincoln County landfill on Pope Creek, but no debris should be piled on roadways or streets. 

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation or stay-in-place order for residents on the west side and south end of Bull Lake due to debris accumulation against the Ross Creeks Cedars Bridge, which is closed to traffic.

Emergency mitigation work is currently underway on the bridge. 

The latest emergency information can be found at the Lincoln County flood information website.

Health concerns

Along with infrastructure damage, last week’s flooding has impacted Libby’s municipal water source, which comes from the Lower Flower Creek Diversion Structure. 

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has been coordinating inspection of the structure and done work to stabilize damaged areas on Dec. 14 and 15. 

The city has been under a boil water order since flooding began. The Red Cross has established an emergency shelter at the Memorial Center, 111 E. Lincoln Boulevard in Libby, and bottled water is available to residents who need it. 

There are two potential concerns with the drinking water, Holloway said, including whether organic or inorganic compounds are present. 

Organic compounds can be addressed through the boil order, but the presence of inorganics, including heavy metals, would make the water nonpottable. 

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has been monitoring the situation and conducting testing. 

Water samples from the city were hand delivered to a testing laboratory in Kalispell on Monday and Tuesday. Results are expected by the end of the day on Thursday or Friday morning at the earliest, according to Holloway. 

Libby’s public water permit requires testing for heavy metals every nine years. Holloway said the city has met all state and federal safety standards in its previous two tests. 

Another public health risk being monitored is whether there have been any impacts to the Libby Asbestos Superfund site, Holloway said, and according to DEQ, there is a chance that some mine waste and vermiculite may have been exposed by the flooding. 

“While the potential for Libby Amphibole asbestos release exists, there is not immediate danger currently identified,” Holloway said in a statement. “Inspection of flood impacted areas for LA containing materials will take place once floodwaters have receded. If areas of concern are identified further actions may take place to protect human health and the environment. Please contact the Asbestos Resource Program if you observe any vermiculite containing materials or if you have any further questions or concerns.”