CLARK FORK, Idaho. – On Spring Creek Road in Clark Fork, Idaho, the flood waters are receding. But the flood damage left behind scars, and costly repairs.
“I was standing here when it washed away,” Clark Fork resident John Meadows told NonStop Local, while gesturing to his washed out culvert.
“I never knew culverts would float, but they just pop and floated away,” Meadows explained.
But once the culvert, and the road atop it, washed away with the flood waters, Meadows says reality sunk in.
“It was kind of heart wrenching at that time because we realized okay, now we’re in big trouble,” Meadows said.
One solution for repairing the main entrance and exit into Meadow’s property? Building a bridge.
But the cost, a huge barrier.
“Right now, we’re worried about even being able to hang on to the property,” Meadows said. “The cost of repairs is astronomical.”
Meadows is only one of many Clark Fork residents facing repairs.
“People’s driveways are gone, culverts are gone,” Clark Fork Mayor Russell Schenck said. “I think people are going to have weeks and possibly even months of work to do to get it all cleaned up.”
Months, of Meadows not being able to access his property through its main thoroughfare.
“We’re not looking for a handout, we just, if they would build a base on this side to hold a bridge, we will take care of our side and build the bridge,” Meadows said.
Starting on Sunday with the reopening of the round, Bonner County laid out fortifying gravel. But even with the gravel jutting into the river, Meadows says it’s not enough to build a bridge.
“I wish they would go a little further with rock, cause then I would build a temporary logging bridge,” Meadows said.
And while repairs continue, the creek has returned to its standard depth, Schenck explained.
“The water levels are like 12.2 feet right now, which is pretty normal for this time of year,” Schenck said.
And while rainfall could exacerbate flooding conditions, Schenck said he hopes the floods are behind them, and residents like John Meadows, can start to get the help they need to repair damages.
