Flooding River Predicted To Rise 6 - 18 Inches More

The Yellowstone River, already well over flood stage, was forecast to rise another 6 to 18 inches by Monday night as hot temperatures sent snowmelt gushing into Montana streams.

Jim Woodhull, of Park County Disaster and Emergency Services office, said 40 houses on Ninth Street Island had been evacuated, and two other neighborhoods have been placed on evacuation alert.

The Yellowstone River stood at 9.6 feet Monday morning, above flood stage of 8.0 feet, and the National Weather Service forecast it would rise another 6 to 18 inches by nightfall.

No deaths or injuries have been reported, but Woodhull said water threatened sections of the East River Road in Paradise Valley, and was very close to damaging several riverside homes in the valley. He said a report from the Park County sheriff’s office that water was over U.S. 89 at Yankee Jim Canyon was incorrect.

Flood warnings also were posted Monday morning for the Flathead River at Columbia Falls and for its three upstream forks; for the Bitterroot River from Darby to Missoula; for Rock Creek near Clinton; for the Big Hole River near Melrose; for the Gallatin and Jefferson rivers; and for the Missouri River from Three Forks to Toston.