As residents in Blaine County fight flooding from the Big Wood River there is now a mandatory evacuation order in place in Ketchum. The Blaine County Sheriff's Office says people who live on Warm Springs Rd. west of Bullwhacker Bridge have been told to pack up their belongings and leave the area. The sheriff's office is also urging others living in areas impacted by flood waters to get prepared now in the event they have to evacuate as well.
The evacuation order comes after acting Idaho Governor Brad Little declared a state of emergency for Blaine County Sunday, clearing the way for the use of State resources to help the central Idaho county cope with flooding caused by melting mountain snowpack.
“We had a tough winter and now, with warmer weather, Blaine County is seeing the effects of heavy snowfall and the resulting runoff. This emergency declaration means the State of Idaho will share in the financial burden the floodwaters are causing to our state and municipal infrastructure,” Little said. “We have had an abnormal winter exceeding 25-year, 50-year and perhaps 100-year event projections. Now that we’re well into spring and headed for summer, we’re seeing a new burden on our citizens.”
Governor Little is regularly updated on flooding and other weather-related conditions throughout Idaho by the State Office of Emergency Management, according to a news release. Twenty-nine of Idaho’s 44 counties now have either a county or state emergency declaration.
Governor Otter is out of the state, leaving Little as acting governor.
