Several roadways still closed in 40 Mile
By Collin Gallant on April 28, 2018.
Medicine Hat News About 50 roads in the County of 40 Mile remain closed from the 84 stretches of roadway that were damaged by water from a quick spring thaw of substantial snowpack that began two weeks ago. The county has placed a road ban on all gravel roads due to the level of saturation, according to a bulletin from that county. Forty Mile also issued a fire advisory stating that warm temperatures and high wind at the end of this week have dried vegetation and crop cover despite good soil moisture. Residents should exercise extreme caution and never leave any fire unattended, it states. In a spring flood update late Friday, Alberta Operations Centre stated that seven municipalities had issued warnings on the emergency alert network in communities from near Grande Prairie to the deep south as the spring melt continues to add volume to major rivers. The province has also issued a high-streamflow advisory for the Red Deer River, downstream fro the City of Red Deer, including areas around Drumheller, but not yet Special Areas No. 2. Taber A state of emergency remains in effect in the Municipal District of Taber, but since overland flows have generally decreased the rural municipality has closed its emergency operations centre on Thursday and is responding through regular channels. That means updates are provided via the MD’s website, not the Alberta Emergency Alert network. Crews are still evaluating a number of road closures and are asking landowners not to pump water off fields into canals without prior notice to the irrigation district. Montana A flood warning related to melting snow in north central Montana was cancelled on Friday morning, though a second bulletin warning of pooling water has been extended to Monday. Residents and work crews are continuing to deal with standing water from spring thaw and a high-running Milk River that began last week and caused seven counties in the north of the state to declare local states of emergency. Officials in Hill County, around Havre, reported that water was receding in many areas though water continued to flow over a few secondary highways and rural roads. The flood warning for Blaine County, to the west of Hill County, remains in place. 15-14
