Ice jam on Lemhi River causes flooding in Salmon neighborhood

SALMON – Extreme cold temperatures are causing problems for a neighborhood near Salmon.

Lemhi County Sheriff Steve Penner tells EastIdahoNews.com at least a dozen homes in the Baker area about nine miles east of Salmon have experienced flooding in the last 24 hours.

Photos from a witness, such as the one shown above, show several feet of water that reaches the top of a fence line in front of one house.

The flooding began Monday night, Penner says. He cites a build-up of ice on the Lemhi River as the cause.

“An ice jam backed up the river, pushing (water) out of the banks and flooding a few homes,” he says.

Residents say one thing that may be contributing to the flooding is fish habitat conservation efforts along the river, which have included building up embankments.

“This has never happened before, and now because it’s so cold, it’s causing a problem,” one resident tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Penner is only aware of one or two homes that have been evacuated at this point.

Multiple agencies are on scene with an excavator trying to break down the ice and place sandbags on property to try and prevent more flooding.

Penner isn’t sure when the issue will be resolved. He says a lot of it hinges on the weather warming up.

The temperature in Salmon, as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, is 5 degrees, according to Weather.com. That’s slightly warmer than it was Monday at this time.

Multiple community members are assisting, along with the Idaho Fish and Game, Lemhi County Road & Bridge, Salmon Search & Rescue and Eagle Valley Ranch.

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