Melt-off Not Threatening Boundary County Waterways

Boundary County officials are keeping their fingers crossed that rising temperatures throughout north Idaho won't cause widespread flooding from rivers and streams beginning to feel the impact of a massive January melt-off.

In nearby Kootenai County, the Coeur d'Alene River swelled to 42 feet, one foot below flood stage on Jan. 8. That, along with warmer temperatures causing extensive melting snow and ice, promoted Boundary County's Incident Commander of Emergency Services to take stock of the county's streams and rivers.

So far, so good, said Bob Graham.

"I took a reconnaissance of the county's three major streams last week, observing possible problematic areas by side drainages near roads and bridges," said Graham. "Right now, the shelf ice we saw was not moving, which is a good sign."

That shelf ice, said Graham, is still fastened to the creek beds, but it still poses a serious concern if temperatures continue to rise, especially to major streams like Trail Creek, Deep Creek and Twenty-Mile Creek.

"When it breaks loose, there's always the potential that it can clog up the turns in the creeks," he added. "When that happens, water runs over the banks and keeps coming because the ice becomes a temporary dam. A lot of times, it creates major problems when it starts spilling over bridges and roadways. That's happened to us quite often in past years. There's always the threat that something like that could happen up here again."

Officials in Shoshone and Benewah counties are also keeping their eyes on ice jams in a portion of the St. Maries River and the St. Joe River, where a two-mile long ice jam has formed between Calder and St. Maries. A state of emergency was declared in Benewah County after officials became concerned that the ice jam might break, shooting water will shoot downriver and flooding the town of St. Maries.

Graham said that the Moyie River in northern Boundary County has always presented major concerns when a strong winter melt-off event occurs.

"When the sub-zero weather hit the region before Christmas, the Moyie was running low, and the freezing temperatures created ice along the sides," Graham explained. "When that ice breaks loose, it creates serious problems, especially in the upper two miles of the Moyie around Eastport where there a lot of 90-degree turns in the river. The ice dams up, and the river runs over homes and property, causing lots of damage."

But for now, Graham said the river is still low, and situation is stable.

"As of Jan. 9, things are looking good," he added. "The forecast is calling for snow, which is also a positive sign."