Flood in Northern Panhandle, Idaho

During the month of May, unusually heavy snow pack at the higher elevations of Idaho began to melt. Runoff swelled many rivers statewide to flood stage. Hardest hit by damaging floods were the counties in the Idaho Panhandle. where seven counties were declared state disaster areas. An estimated 4 Million dollars in property damages were suffered and miles of road were flooded throughout the region disrupting transportation. The major rivers of the region...the Pend Oreille, St. Joe and Coeur d'Alene...remained above flood stage for most of the second half of May. Elsewhere in Idaho less serious flooding occurred on the Portneuf, Teton,Henry's Fork and Snake Rivers. Flooding along these rivers inundated mostly agricultural land. The Big Wood River flooded near the town of Hailey where a few houses were flooded.