Flood meeting set Wednesday for Hill County

As flood impacts continue to increase, Hill County has set a forum for Wednesday to discuss the flooding and what can be done to deal with it.

Rapidly warming temperatures this week following a high level of snowfall this winter in this region led to flooding of roads and state and federal highways, with ongoing work to reduce the impacts, reduced speed limits and road closures.

As more precipitation, rain and snow both, fell in the are a Wednesday through this morning, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has announced closures of recreation areas downstream on the Milk River.

FWP said in a release that melting snow and recent rain has swelled the Milk River over its banks at several locations along the Hi-Line, experiencing moderate to significant flooding. FWP has authorized two emergency closures at fishing access sites and one emergency restriction of a wildlife management area along the Milk River in northeast Montana.

The high waters are unpredictably eroding the riverbank causing the banks to become unstable and to slough into the fast-moving river. People are at risk of unexpectedly being swept into the river, resulting in injury, or drowning. Floating on frozen or flooded rivers can be extremely dangerous and is discouraged.

These sites will be closed or restricted until further notice, FWP said in the release:

Bjornberg Bridge FAS, north of U.S. Highway 2 between Saco and Hinsdale is closed to all public occupation and recreation as signed.

Alkali Creek FAS, southwest of Malta, is closed to all public occupation and recreation as signed.

Cree Crossing WMA, north of Sleeping Buffalo, is closed at the lower parking area nearest the river as signed.

Signs informing the public of the closures/restrictions will be posted at access points. Closures or restrictions will be lifted as soon as conditions allow and will depend on the extent and duration of the flooding in the area.

The public is asked to use extreme caution when accessing FWP sites such as fishing access sites, wildlife management areas, state parks and any other areas near rivers or streams.  Flood water elevations change rapidly, and some sites may become partially or fully submerged by flood waters within minutes or hours. 

At the Hill County meeting, set to start at 6:30 p.m. in the Hill County 4-H Chuckwagon Building on the Great Northern Fairgrounds, Hill County commissioners and representatives of the county road department, state agencies and other assisting officials will give an introduction, the release about the forum said.

That will be followed by an assessment of roads and problem areas in the county with a presentation of pictures and slides.

A discussion will be held on which stage of flooding the county is able to address immediately, along with timelines for mitigation and recovery and roles and responsibilities of the county in the process of emergencies.

The next topic listed is explaining the process of declaring an emergency including the state’s role, how funding works and how long it will take to get to the area, and a presentation on where property owners go if their homes were damaged on the flood plain.

A discussion will be held on the process of determining the priority of projects and which departments handle which parts of the process.

Public comments and concerns then will be taken, with each person limited to three minutes.

At the close of the forum, a date and time will be set for a follow-up meeting related to the work and materials and funding to address flooding damages in Hill County.