Snowpack Prompts Insurance Warning State Officials Ask Milo Creek Residents To Get Flood Coverage

State disaster officials are recommending that homeowners in Kellogg and lower Wardner consider buying flood insurance if their property lies within the 100-year flood plain of Milo Creek.

The snowpack above Wardner and Kellogg is above normal for this time of year, noted Glenn Jackson of the Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services.

“While we don’t anticipate that a flood will occur, the potential is definitely there if we have a sudden, significant warming trend combined with heavy rain,” Jackson said. “If that did happen, some people in those communities would have cause for concern.”

Jackson is coordinator of the Milo Creek Permanent Improvement Project. In its first phase, completed last fall, included the construction of a flood-control system through much of Wardner. People living along the completed portion are safe from flooding, Jackson said, but those living below may still be in harm’s way.

Jackson suggested that homeowners check with Kellogg’s city planning department to confirm whether they live within the flood plain.

Flood insurance can be obtained through most local insurance companies, said Fred Eisenbarth of the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

The cost of flood insurance will decline after the Milo Creek Project is done, Eisenbarth said. The work is scheduled to begin in April and finish in October.