Flooding, which ravaged much of Yellowstone National Park, was less severe in Park County than portions of southwestern Montana. Although the Crandall area and much of Clark were hit hard by floodwaters, most of the county survived overflowing rivers with minimal damage to homes, roads and bridges.

“There was definitely damage in Clark,” said Joy Hill, director of Park County Planning and Zoning.

Although she also serves as the county’s Floodplan administrator, Hill said she was not involved in responding to emergencies that developed last week during the flooding.

“In my office, we deal with flood permitting,” Hill said, pointing out the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) often deals with claims arising from floods. 

Brian Edwards, Park County engineer, confirmed flooding damage to some roads and bridges but said there was minimal damage. 

“As far as roads and bridges, we’ve been very fortunate compared to our neighbors in the north,” Edwards said.

In addition to servicing a couple of bridges threatened by floating debris and monitoring some temporarily washed-out roads, Edwards said the county’s engineering department spent time hauling in rip rap rocks to strengthen river banks washed out by raging waters.

“We’ve been applying (rip rap) on the lower Greybull River down near Meeteetse and the Wood River, too,” he said. “There’s been a little bit of erosion, so when we see the potential cutting into river banks, we add rock where we can.”

Edwards said two Park County roads were severely impacted by initial flooding last Monday, but his department quickly cleared them.

“We’ve had water over the roads, down in the Clark area,” he said, “but both of these have receded and the roads are passable, now.”

Specifically, roads 8VE and 7RP were temporarily flooded.

“With county infrastructure, we’ve seen minimal damage compared to Yellowstone, Gardiner and Red Lodge,” said Edwards, noting one of the most immediate challenges last week entailed removing uprooted trees and other debris that piled up under and against bridges. Over time, the debris can weaken bridges and threaten structural integrity.

Edwards said Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) spent much of last week clearing debris that threatened bridges to prevent long-term damage, or even total collapse.

“The county has, as well,” he said. “I saw (WYDOT) removing trees up at Edelweiss. … They were removing trees with an excavator. In fact, they borrowed the county’s excavator. 

“As  far as the county goes, we continue to watch things — river levels, bridges and the roads — especially down in the Meeteetse area, but also up the South Fork at the Shoshone River,” Edwards said.

The Public Works engineer credited local volunteers with helping the county stay informed about road conditions and river levels.

“They keep an eye out and let us know,” Edwards said of local citizens who live in impacted areas. “They know something is happening before we do. We’ve got a good working relationship with the public. Anytime something like this happens, where there is flooding … a lot of our actions are based on feedback we get.

“Also, emergency services — the Sheriff’s Office and (Park County) Homeland Security,” Edwards continued, noting the Public Works department coordinates actions with first-responders to prioritize needs and assist with ensuring safety.

Park County Sheriff Scott Steward concurred. He said after initial reports came into the sheriff’s office on Monday, deputies began coordinating efforts with the local homeland security office and county officials — including representatives from the Public Works department — to rescue stranded residents, make evacuation recommendations and ensure public safety.

Like Edwards, Steward said threatened bridges were high priorities. 

“We maintained several bridges,” Steward said, noting two bridges were washed out in Park County, including a Clarks Fork Canyon bridge, about 40 miles north of Cody.

 Steward said the Park County Sheriff’s Office  continues to monitor precipitation and river levels. Although high temperatures are expected to melt snowpacks in the surrounding mountains, Steward said he remained cautiously optimistic the worst is behind the county.

Yellowstone snowpacks are dense, Edwards pointed out. If the temperatures melt large quantities of snow quickly, the rivers could fill up fast over the weekend.

“Be aware, here in Wyoming, especially the western portion, the land is basically mountainous and hilly,” Edwards said. “So, water moves faster and creates a lot of damage. With temperatures rising and snowpack, it changes very quickly.

“Hopefully, next week we’ll be out of the danger zone,” he continued. “Hopefully, we’re past the worst. We’ll know more next week.” 

Still, Park County’s chief engineer warned people to be cautious.

“There’s an awful lot of water coming down,” he said. “All the rivers are still flowing.”

Sheriff Steward agreed with Edwards: “We don’t expect anything like we had this Monday — hopefully,”

However, Steward mirrored Edwards’ sentiments about remaining vigilant.

“What I would say to anybody is just be cautious of any high level of water,” Steward said. “Watch those waterways and be prepared to evacuate or shelter in place.”

The sheriff prefaced his office can only make recommendations. Deputies do not have the authority to force evacuations. 

“That’s an issue we had in Cooke City,” Steward said, citing Wyoming state laws that restrict law enforcement personnel from mandating evacuations in a disaster like severe flooding. “They refuse to leave — until it’s too late.

“We just have the authority to advise them, ‘It’s unsafe to be here,’” the sheriff said. “And then move on to the next group.”

Steward also credited local volunteers for their efforts and early response. With only about a half-dozen sheriff’s deputies, he said the department relies heavily on nearly 30 search and rescue volunteers to help with evacuations in emergencies involving natural disasters.

Referring to the severe flooding that hit southwest Montana and northwest Wyoming last week, Steward didn’t hesitate to answer.

“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen anything like it.”