Lots Of Water, But Damage Doesn’t Rival ‘96 Corps Of Engineers’ Levee Work Cited As Reason Losses Aren’t Worse

The flood damage reports are starting to trickle in as officials warn boaters to stay off the lakes to prevent any more problems.

Benewah County estimates that the spring floods have caused almost $500,000 worth of damage, most of which has been the loss of crops.

“That’s not bad. Looking at last year, the estimated damage was $9.3 million,” said Civil Defense Director George Currier, referring to the February 1996 floods.

The damage would have been much worse, he said, if not for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ emergency work to raise the levees.

“With the height of water we had, we would have overtopped the four major levees,” he said.

In Kootenai County, more than 50 homes and a dozen mobile homes on Lake Coeur d’Alene have 4 inches to 1-1/2 feet of water in their living areas, said Sandy Von Behren, disaster services coordinator. The lower clubhouse at the Beachhouse Restaurant is under 3 to 4 feet of water, she said.

“We have many roads with anywhere from 2 to 5 feet of water covering them,” she said. “A lot of them have cut people off, so they’re basically isolated out there.”

Many of those roads are along the lower Coeur d’Alene River, including Bull Run Road. The Eastside Highway District has been trying to raise the road above the floodwaters for two weeks.

Although the river has dropped below flood stage upstream, the lake still is bloated several feet over summer level, causing water to back up into the river.

The lake is expected to drop to 2,134 feet by Sunday.

That’s still high enough to cause problems, especially if boats kick up waves.

Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said the marine patrol will be out in full force in anticipation of the weekend boating danger. Anyone caught boating on the Spokane River may be cited.

“With all the high water and debris, it’s a great weekend for people to stay home and barbecue,” Wolfinger said. “Just stay off the water.”

Bonner County has established a no-wake zone within a half mile of shorelines on lakes within its boundaries. Lake Pend Oreille still is 2 feet above flood stage, and is expected to remain there all weekend.

The outflow from Albeni Falls Dam could increase by Monday. On Friday the dam was releasing 130,000 cubic feet of water per second. Flood stage is 106,000 cfs.

The National Weather Service said the threat of flooding along Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River could continue well into June.

The doesn’t mean boaters should head to Hayden Lake or take a tour up the St. Joe River.

Von Behren said she’s had several calls from Hayden Lake homeowners who fear boaters will swarm to their lake and cause damage to their shoreline this weekend.

“We’ve asked people to observe a no-wake zone on any of the lakes,” she said.

When Foss Maritime Co. asked about sending a tug boat down to St. Maries to secure some logs, Currier discouraged it because of concern for the levees.

“A boater wouldn’t be welcome this weekend,” he added. “People are still trying to save their dikes.”

Dike district members and the Corps of Engineers will continue to monitor the saturated levees through the weekend, Currier said. Although the St. Joe River has dropped almost 3 feet to 2,166 feet, that’s still 3-1/2 feet above flood stage.

A good amount of snow still remains in the mountains, but cooling temperatures this weekend should slow the melt. The small amount of rainfall won’t be enough to raise the rivers, according to the National Weather Service.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Susan Drumheller Staff writer Staff writer Andrea Vogt contributed to this report.