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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Flooding Rivers, Creeks Begin Drop Fast-Rising Waters Leave Behind Plenty Of Cleanup For Residents

Rick Rowe maneuvered his small boat among the tires, light bulbs and door frame that bobbed and floated in the muddy river water.

Then he docked the boat and stepped onto his front porch.

“When I left here last night I fully expected to find this trailer floating back by that pump house,” he said with a grin.

North Idaho’s flood waters receded some Tuesday, permitting residents to either heave a sigh of relief or mop up.

“I’m just trying to dry everything out,” Rowe said, an odor of dampness filling his mobile home that still sat surrounded by silty water.

In the back bedroom, towels soaked the river water out of the carpeting. Boxes of belongings still perched high up on tables and dressers.

Silt marked the white siding of Rowe’s home, showing how the water rose up around the foundation, crept up a few more inches into the building and then slowly dropped back down a few feet.

Rivers and creeks in Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties began flooding Sunday night after rains and record-setting warm temperatures melted mountain snow.

North of Enaville, Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene River and its North Fork washed out roads and seeped into homes and garages along the Coeur d’Alene River Road.

Although some homes were still surrounded by water Tuesday, the Coeur d’Alene River had fallen below flood level, according to the National Weather Service.

“We’ll have to wait until the water goes down more to pump out the well,” said Don Nickerson.

Although the rushing water surrounded his Coeur d’Alene River Road home, it never made it inside, he said.

And what had seemed like a lake in Nickerson’s front yard Monday was only a shallow swamp Tuesday.

Still, he and Rowe had to bring buckets and jugs of clean water to their home for safe drinking. And Rowe figures it will be another couple of days before he can start driving to his home, rather than paddling.

Although Rowe had no electricity or phone service on Tuesday, he planned to stay the night.

“I’ve got candles and I’ve got a kerosene heater,” he said.

“We’re going to start up the barbecue and barbecue some steaks.”

In Cataldo, the river rose more than 11 feet in 48 hours, threatening to wash through the small town. Sand and sandbags kept the water at bay.

On Tuesday the flood warning still held for the city as a foot of water continued to wash over almost a quarter-mile of the Latour Creek Road just outside of Cataldo.

The water was expected to fall below flood levels by Tuesday night, according to the weather service.

Flood warnings were cancelled for the St. Joe River at Calder, Idaho. The St. Joe River near St. Maries had not fallen below flood level as of Tuesday afternoon, but was expected to later in the evening.