May 19, 2023 |
Photo – North Platte River near Hobo Hot Pools in Saratoga – by Matt Copeland Bigfoot99
The North Platte River, at Saratoga, is expected to reach a near “minor flood” level of 8.5 feet on Saturday, rising above the mark to 8.6 feet on Monday. The river reached 8.0 feet on Friday morning. “Action” stage is 7.5 feet.
Free Sandbags are available for Saratoga and Encampment residents.
Local emergency management officials have been unavailable to comment over the last couple of days and have not responded to calls from Bigfoot 99. Here’s what we know.
Sandbags are filled and ready to go for residents who want them. At Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting, Councilman Jerry Fluty said residents must stack the bags themselves. For liability reasons, the town is unable to bring the sandbags onto private property.
Councilman Jerry Fluty said the sandbags are available for both businesses and private residents, but the bags are only to be used within town limits.
Mayor Chuck Davis instructed citizens to call the town hall with sandbag requests. Mayor Davis said the information will be passed on to the town’s emergency manager, Sergeant Tyler Christen.
The Mayor said Sgt. Christen will tell Streets Department Supervisor John Lasko where the bags are needed.
Much like the Little Snake and North Platte Rivers, the Encampment River is experiencing flooding as well. The town of Encampment has sandbags available for residents. A social media post by the town said students from the Encampment K-12 school filled a pallet’s worth of sandbags. Residents of Encampment and Riverside may pick up the sandbags from the west side of the town’s maintenance shop at 201 West Emerson Boulevard. The bags are free and people do not need to inform the town before taking them.
Flooding is expected to continue into next week. These numbers are subject to change through the weekend depending on how the snow melts.
Starting today, Saratoga’s Hobo Hot Pool is closed until further notice because of high water. The town has closed the hot pools in the past when the area is threatened by flooding.
