County assesses flood damage in wake of past week's rain

In the wake of last week’s flooding in Beaver Creek Park and some areas north of Havre, the Hill County Commission has not made a decision about whether to declare a disaster for the floods.

Earlier this month the commission declared a disaster for the drought conditions, but Monday morning Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said they are still evaluating this situation and no decision regarding another disaster declaration, and no decision on any emergency tax that declaration might entail has been made.

Disaster declarations like the one made for drought earlier this month sometimes come with an emergency tax that allows counties to pay for mitigation or repairs.

The drought disaster declaration by the commission did not come with such a tax and the commission said at the time if they are considering one that will be made clear to the public so they have a chance to make their voices heard before a vote is taken.

Friday, the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s Natural Resource Department in a release posted to the tribe’s official Facebook page on Friday said overnight camping in the Bear Paw Mountains in both the Beaver Creek Park and Big Sandy Creek areas are closed, and those campgrounds and roads that are considered unsafe will be flagged.

The release asks everyone to adhere to those flags, as water levels remain high and several local campgrounds and roadways have been significantly damaged.

It says these restrictions will stay in place until further notice and as of Monday evening no notices have been released.

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Amanda Frickel said this morning that outside of Beaver Creek Park and north of Havre there were a few spots that were flooded Saturday after the storm hit, but they were cleaned up by the end of Sunday.

Frickel said there was some damage done to pole barns and a few crops lost to hail but nothing extensive.

“Most of the water is moved off the roads,” she said.

While Hill County saw flood damage, neighboring Blaine County Disaster and Emergency Services hasn’t seen any in their area.

The Havre Daily News reached out to emergency services in Liberty and Chouteau counties but they had not responded by print deadline Monday afternoon.