Jefferson County prepares for possible flooding as temperatures begin to warm up

The following is a news release and photo from Jefferson County.

RIGBY – As temperatures begin to warm, Jefferson County officials prepare for potential flooding and encourage residents to do likewise.

Significant snow accumulation creates the potential for flooding, particularly if melting is expedited by rainfall. Similar to the flooding in Yellowstone National Park in June 2022 or the floods west of Interstate 15 near Kettle Butte in 2017, rain-on-snow events can be dramatic and devastating. In 2017, Jefferson County was part of a federally-declared disaster due to the extreme damage in sheet flooding. Over three miles of road was washed away – enough material to fill nearly 200 dump trucks.

The same thing could happen in 2023. To prepare, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners received a briefing Monday morning outlining the threat, disaster declaration process, and actions to be taken to protect public infrastructure. Private homes, farms and businesses could be impacted as well.

Residents living on or near sloped areas – near Heise, the Menan Buttes, Lewisville Knolls, or west of Roberts – should prepare for flooding now by taking the following actions:

• Have sandbags and plastic rolls on hand to divert flood water, and learn how to deploy them
• Sign up for public alerts through the FEMA app and Jefferson County’s Alertsense. Follow
  Jefferson County on Facebook
• Evaluate where spring flooding has occurred in the past, and protect against it
• Have an evacuation and shelter-in-place plan for your family, pets, and livestock
• Protect drinking water by ensuring flood water does not overtop your well head. Consider testing
  if the area around your domestic well was flooded
• Remove electric motors from pivots that may be submerged in flood water
• Clear drainage channels so melted snow has a place to flow

Although Jefferson County maintains a supply of sandbags, they are primarily for the protection of public infrastructure. It is a property owner’s responsibility to obtain supplies for their own homes. Sandbags are normally available at home improvement stores, hardware stores, or army surplus outlets.

More information on flood preparedness and emergency alerts can be found here.