The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-04-21
Warm Rains
Send Creeks
Out Of Banks
Flood Waters in Local
Streams Cause Damage to
Roads and Bridges.
PART OF NEW
HIGHWAY WASHED OUT

HUH w "A L WASHED OOI
With an evident intention to spoil
the Easter display of millinery, the
weather man gave Libby three days
and nights of intermittent warm
showers over the week
end showers that started the grass
jumping out of the ground and that
will soon be responsible for the
song of the whirling lawn mowers
And the warm, gentle rains started
something else They put most of
the smaller streams of this district
out Of their banks and caused what
looked like flood conditions for
few short hours. However, clear
ing of the skies and an abrupt drop
of the temperature Monday night
put a stop to the melting of the
SHOWS and lessened the supply of
water running into the streams.
Some damage was done to bridges
and highway entertainments. About
400 feet of embankment of new
B. P. K. highway was washed out
just north of the new steel bridge
over Libby creek, about II miles
south of Libby. The section that
went out is between Paul Bun
vans grave" and the bridge, the
embankment there being about 10
feet high. The temporary bridge
over the west Fisher also went out
but that was to be expected since
it was only just barely above low
water height and it was known that
it would go out with the first spring
freshet. About 200 feet of the bridge
on the road leading to the Herbst
ranch went out. This bridge was
an old structure and has threatened
to 60 out for number of years
during each high water period.
Three hundred feet of roadbed was
also carried away there.
New Highway Cut
West of Libby, about two miles
from Kootenai falls, another sec
ton of B. r. r. grade was washed
out. A culvert there proved made
quate to carry the flood flow. a
trench was cut across the top of
the highway and the rushing water
soon completed the work of de-
molition. The culvert was washed
out and deep trench cut in the
highway. n kElilROIdtY DIIQEt
opened this road to traffic Tuesday
evening.
In common with other streams,
Granite creek went on rampage
and Monday afternoon began to
gnaw at the embankment just above
the bridge south of Libby. For a
time it was feared the grade was
doomed and it was believed it would
be washed through before morning.
However, after washing away some
80 to 40 feet of earth above the
embankment, the cutting seemed to
lessen and no further damage was
done.
Mill Ponds Overflow.
The high water caused lively
work at the plant of the j. Neil!
Lumber company Monday. The
flow was SO great that it filled botf
the large mill pond and the small
feeder" pond leading into the saw
mill The water began flowing ovel
the top of the dixie holding the biz
pond. 1t was necessary to stop tina
at once or the dixie would have beer
washed out and a large number o
logs lost. Floor gates were i'm
mediately opened and that savet
the day While this was being done
the water had risen to Where 1T wa
flowing out of the small pond int,
the sawmill yards and under tn
planning mill bikes were hastil,
thrown up to divert this water bac
into the creek and to keep 1t out 0
the plant. All of which required Il
men working at top speed for sew
eral hours.
The overflow from the pond
started down the switching trac
toward the Zonolite company plan
Workmen there also threw up dixie
and kept the water out of the plan
excepting small amount
Homes Threatened.
Below the sawmill and the Zone
lite plant, residents were in a ba
position. The rising water w;
threatening to wash out their home
but the worst of the danger WE
averted by the building of protectis
dykes. During the worst of I'll
threat these residents appealed
the sheriff's office for help.
Considerable damage was dor
W 1dilNllCo aiCAiS ooiiaC VI VI
streams, chiefly on Libby cree
Glen Oneal says he lost two I
three acres of good meadow Ian
washed away Heavy damage w
done to the E. A. Rice ranch by tt
washing onto it logs, stumps, al
rocks Some of his best land
ruined, according to report A
proaches to the bridge there we
washed out, says Commission
Kemp.
According to Frank Small, d
trict engineer for the state highw
commission, it looked for tir
as though Callahan creek mig
again threaten Troy with floe
A jam of logs was threatening
throw the stream out OF its b
near the site of the old concentrai
and if that had happened the flo
Continued on page 81