Rising Snake River Pushes County To Declare Emergency

The Snake River’s rise to dangerously high levels Tuesday prompted Bingham County officials to declare a state of emergency.

The water threatens Interstate 15, a main north-south thoroughfare.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation nnounced Monday Palisades Reservoir on the Wyoming border is nearing capacity and it must release more water.

That prompted Bingham County, Blackfoot, Firth, Shelley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Transportation Department to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday.

Jefferson County, north of Idaho Falls, has already declared its emergency with waters threatening the small farming town of Roberts.

Interstate 15 serves as a barrier between the Snake River and a new Blackfoot residential and commercial district built in a 100-year-old river channel.

Public Works Director Gary Chaffin said the rising Snake River has caused a storm drain to back up and flood near Wal-Mart.

“We need more rain like we need a hole in the head,” he said.

City crews will attempt to close off intake and outflow pipes from the river to Jensen’s Grove Lake to prevent flooding there.

Roberts residents have been on alert since last week, when the river threatened to overflow the banks of a canal that passes near town.