Downpour floods part of Chinook

CHINOOK - A heavy rainstorm struck Chinook on Thursday night, causing flooding that forced city workers to barricade a number of streets.

The deluge hit about 8:15 p.m. and lasted 20 minutes. The rain water rushed to low areas in west and south Chinook, accumulating 10 to 12 inches in some areas. The water covered dozens of yards and flooded several basements. By 9 p.m., much of the Blaine County Fairgrounds was still under water, and some streets were so flooded that residents used canoes to move from block to block.

Volunteers and Chinook firefighters blocked off flooded streets and used pumps to remove water from flooded yards.

The Montana Department of Transportation set up a signal vehicle just west of the city limits to warn traffic on U.S. Highway 2 to slow down, as about 6 inches of water covered part of the highway, forcing traffic to slow to a crawl.

At the home of Chinook resident Walt Funk along New York Street, water flooded the back yard up to the house, and a fire crew used two powered pumps to drain it into the street.

"We're getting a little bit at a time," volunteer Mike Bryson said. "When the storm drains are this full, there's no place to pump it to."

By 9:30 p.m., much of the water had receded, though at one point, the water in the street was so high that it was past the door of Bryson's -ton Chevrolet pickup, he said.

"It's a good thing the city crew was on the ball or we would have had a mess," he said.

Five blocks away on Pennsylvania Street, Colleen Anderson watched as another group of firefighters pumped water from her yard.

"They've done a few cubic yards already," she said.

Anderson lives in south Chinook, one of the lowest parts of town. Rain water came flooding down the street, then gathered in an impromptu lake when storm drains couldn't accommodate the large volume of water. The sidewalk disappeared as water rose over the curb and onto her lawn.

Anderson said that when the water reached its peak, it was lapping at her front steps.

Her mother's car was parked in the street in front of her house, and the water got so high that Anderson had to drive it up the block to higher ground. When the water crept up the front steps, she became worried about her own car parked in the garage.

"I wasn't sure if I should just leave it there or try to back it out through the deep water," she said.

Anderson chose to move her own car, which was not damaged by the flooding. Not all of her neighbors were so fortunate.

A passenger car a block away was submerged up to the windows, Anderson said, adding that when the water receded and her neighbor opened the door, "water came gushing out."

Anderson had been in her back yard watching the thunderstorm when the rain hit.

"A few drops started coming down, and I thought 'Time to get in the house,'" she said.

Anderson compared the storm to one two years ago that flooded her basement. This year, she was better prepared and used a pump to keep the water at bay.

"The floor's a little wet, but it's not bad." she said. "Nothing like two years ago."

While firefighters and residents were hard at work, neighborhood children took advantage of their newfound aquatic playground. At the city park, a group of kids were splashing in a foot of water, taking running starts and then sliding.

Eight-year-old Tanner Gomke, clad in yellow galoshes, said he and his 12-year-old brother, Justin, were having a blast.

"It was pretty fun. We got in the water and rode our bikes in it," he said.

The brothers took a break from riding their bikes to help their parents. The boys held a white fire hose being used to drain the water from Anderson's yard.

The National Weather Service did not have information this morning about the total amount of precipitation in Chinook, though some residents estimated that Thursday's storm dumped between 1 and 2 inches of rain.