×

Supervisors declare disaster after flooding

The Webster County Board of Supervisors approved a disaster declaration Tuesday due to flooding that happened starting last week.

This declaration will allow people who have been directly affected by flooding to apply for assistance from the state.

Sheriff Jim Stubbs, speaking on behalf of Emergency Management Coordinator Dylan Hagen, who was unable to attend the meeting Tuesday, said the grants are based on household income.

He added that, with the disaster declaration, federal assistance might become available as well.

“Hopefully, with the disaster declaration, then FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) can come in too and you can receive money from FEMA,” Stubbs said, adding that about 21 counties across the state have declared disasters because of flooding.

Stubbs also provided an update on flooding throughout the county.

It was first reported Thursday night near Kalo. Stubbs said a driveway was washed out, and several homes in that area were flooded.

Stubbs said he was out there Thursday night to help inspect the damage.

“Everything was handled the best way it could,” he said.

Lehigh also experienced some flooding, and on Sunday, some homeowners were told to evacuate because of concerns that the river levels would keep rising due to an ice jam in Humboldt.

Stubbs said much of the flooding impacted the east side of Lehigh, and led to the closure of Webster County Road P73.

He did say that water levels had gone up a little bit Tuesday.

“I’m assuming there’s probably an ice jam somewhere south of Deception Hollow,” Stubbs said. “The gauge is showing coming up a little bit.”

But he said at this point Lehigh residents are not in any danger.

He also clarified that the bridge in Lehigh was not going to be shut down.

“That would cause major problems,” Stubbs said. “There’s no other way to get to the other side of Lehigh.”

However, he didn’t rule out the possibility of closing the bridge if water levels got dangerously high.

“Could that day come?” Stubbs asked. “Sure, if the river gets high enough.”

He also had praise for not only Hagen, but Webster County Engineer Randy Will and his road crews for their work during the flooding.

“I think Dylan did one heck of a job these last few days,” Stubbs said. “Randy’s foremen did a good job in Kalo at that driveway.”

“All in all, for a bad situation, it went fairly well,” the sheriff added.

Supervisor Mark Campbell also praised their work.

“I want to thank everybody that came out to help sand bag,” Campbell said. “Dylan did an excellent job of getting them there. The fire chief in Lehigh did a great job of coordinating people. A lot of great people showed up to help and did what they could.”

Supervisor Nick Carlson was absent from the otherwise unanimous vote.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today