Residents, Officials Monitor Rivers, Streams

Melting snow and rain continued to frustrate many Inland Northwest residents Thursday, snarling traffic and worrying people who live near rivers and streams.

Crews punched a hole through a massive mudslide blocking U.S. Highway 95 near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, but traffic was still stop-and-go on the north-south route.

Two workers in nearby Bonner County were trapped by mudslides that blocked a county road and had to be rescued by boat, authorities said.

In Spokane County, the Little Spokane River overwhelmed a sandbag wall and ate away a 100-yard strip of shoulder adjoining Little Spokane River Drive.

The river also eroded the fill material around the south end of the bridge there, county engineers said.

Roads in the valley were damp but mostly undamaged as the river began subsiding late Thursday, according to Bob Anderson, chief of Fire District 9.

As he prowled the roads of his district, Anderson found no one in danger. “For the most part people are staying with their homes and sitting this one out,” he said.

About 30 county roads were closed because of high water or flood damage, Spokane County sheriff’s deputies said.

Water flowed steadily across West Newman Lake Drive in the Spokane Valley, leaving the occupants of two dozen homes in Honeymoon Bay and Sutton Bay splashing their way home.

County engineers were keeping a close eye on several bridges for fear of washouts.

Authorities across the region said there were no new} injuries resulting from the weather.

The only reported evacuation came near Ione, Wash., when a house began sliding down an embankment toward the Pend Oreille River.

Officials warned residents to be on alert for more high water and potential mudslides today.

Continued warm weather and the chance of rain showers may contribute more water to already swollen streams and saturated hillsides, they said.

Spokane County Sheriff John Goldman said there was a good chance that more basements could flood along the Little Spokane River.

The county’s Department of Emergency Services advised residents along swollen rivers and streams to move valuables out of their basements immediately.

Spokane Regional Health District officials also said floodwaters are likely to seep into septic systems in low-lying areas and contaminate wells.

They asked people to begin storing clean drinking water and pick up free water test kits at the district office, 1101 W. College in Spokane.

In Central Washington, flood warnings remained in effect for the Naches and Yakima rivers.

On the West Side, rivers began to subside, and life was getting back to normal.

, DataTimes