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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Water, Water Everywhere Emergencies Declared In East Idaho Counties; Residents Evacuate As Snake Flood Threat Rises

Associated Press

Authorities advised residents in several eastern Idaho farming communities to evacuate flooded areas Thursday, while more water from melting snow poured into Palisades Reservoir than was being released into the swollen Snake River.

“I’ll be herding cows on a Jet Ski,” said Mark Lundquist, a marine deputy for the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Department in Idaho Falls. “This is to be expected when you live in low country. But it’s still discouraging.”

The brown, muddy water pushing through the area was the first sign of Wednesday’s release of a record 37,000 cubic feet per second from the reservoir near the Wyoming border.

Residents from nearby Swan Valley to south-central Idaho stacked sandbags as water lapped at their property.

Even more - up to 40,000 cubic feet per second - may be released in the days ahead, said Dell Sutheimer, the dam’s facility manager.

Meanwhile, water from melting snow was flowing into the reservoir at 46,000 cubic feet per second.

Jefferson County declared a state of emergency and mobilized more than 200 workers from the county, state and federal agencies, the American Red Cross and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

About 200 people voluntarily left their homes in Roberts.

Jefferson County Sheriff Blair Olsen also issued a voluntary evacuation notice for some residents of the Menan area.

The decision came after efforts to shore up a dike failed and water flowed over it. Evacuations eventually could displace nearly 600 people.

Farther downstream, Bingham County officials worked to keep a series of lakes, which normally catch extra water from farm canals, from inundating a stretch of Interstate 15 at Blackfoot.

“There’s a lot of work going on on canals and head gates, but the water’s continuing to rise,” said Dick Larsen, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

To the west, Power and Minidoka counties declared states of emergency on Thursday.

The American Falls and Minidoka reservoirs are full, so incoming water will have to be matched with more water being sent down the river, said Bureau of Reclamation hydraulic engineer Mark Croghan. Homeowners along the Snake River near Burley already have begun sandbagging in anticipation.

“We see the situation as life-threatening,” Power County Commissioner Kent Rudeen said. “Rescuers will have a problem getting to anyone in trouble on the river.”