Rain In Forecast, And Maybe Sand Warmer Days Mean Minor Flooding; Get Your Own Sand, Officials Warn

Residents in areas that flood during heavy rains are being urged to stock up on sandbags and prepare for warm weekend weather.

National Weather Service forecasts are calling for snow and ice early today. By late in the day, temperatures are expected to rise, changing the precipitation to rain.

While the weather is not expected to spark major rivers to overflow, it is expected to send water rushing over roadways and spark flash flooding of area streams, said Kootenai County’s disaster chief Bill Schwartz.

In addition, following severe ice and snowstorms this winter, area highway districts are running out of sand.

That means residents need to plan ahead and get their own sand, from area gravel pits or back yards, he said.

“If people suspect they might need rolls of plastic or sandbags at some point, get them now,” said Schwartz. “Don’t wait until 2 in the morning and call us. Please.”

Police, sheriff’s deputies, utility crews and American Red Cross volunteers will be on hand this weekend in case their services are needed, but they don’t have the manpower to protect every home, Schwartz said.

Wednesday, Schwartz met with emergency workers to plan for a weekend meltdown of mountain snow.

Area snow density is already high - reaching 180 percent of normal in some areas. With a warming trend around the corner, much of that snow could run off into area streams.

Residents of at least one of the region’s flood-ravaged areas feel they’re already prepared.

In Cataldo, workers - with the aid of federal dollars - were busy building up a dike on the Coeur d’Alene River.

“It’s almost fixed,” said resident Verne Blalack. “It’s now 2 feet higher than the river has ever come.”

Another 182-foot area below Interstate 90, where floodwaters used to pass into town, has now been built up. Only about 36 feet of area is left open and might require sandbagging.

“We can toss that up pretty quick,” Blalack said.

Besides, he added, many homes east of Fourth of July Pass have been built up since the 1996 flood season. And he’d rather see some of the snowpack melt now.

“You take what you can get,” he said. “Better for some of it to come down now than for all of it to come down in April.”

, DataTimes