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Klamath
Falls Herald and News
Waters remain high on rivers
By
DYLAN DARLING
A chilly break in rainy weather put flood worries on ice Thursday in the
Sprague River Valley.
Waters
are still high in and around Chiloquin where the Sprague and Williamson rivers
merge, and Klamath County officials are keeping their eyes on the rivers and
on the forecast.
“Fortunately we have had a break in weather,” said Bill Thompson, county
emergency manager. “But the next 36 hours will tell the tale.”
Rain is expected to return to the area, but it should be light and scattered
enough that it won't push the river close to flood stage.
“I don't think it would cause any kind of flooding,” said Dan Mundell, a
meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
According to a National Weather Service flooding advisory Wednesday, the
Sprague as expected to rise to 7 1/2 feet near Beatty. The river topped at
just under 7 feet. Flood stage is 8 1/2 feet.
“So it's been running close to bank full, but it is not flooding,” Mundell
said.
In the Sprague River Valley, there were spots where the river had flowed into pastures and fields, but no homes were threatened by flood waters, he said.
Precipitation
Wednesday night and early Thursday came as snow, and snow was expected to fall
again Thursday night. The questions now are if and when rain will come and if
it does, how warm it will be.
A warm rain could melt the snow and again cause flood worries.
For now, the rivers look to be high, but not out of control.
“Right
now we are in good shape, providing that we don't get any bad weather,” said
Cpl. Shawn Richards, rural patrol team leader for the Klamath County Sheriff's
office.
The Sprague and Williamson rivers last flooded in the winter of 1996-97, after
a similar string of weather. The last flooding before that was in 1964.
Warning
issued for Siskiyou County
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning with heavy rain
and snow spreading across Siskiyou County for the next several days.
Included
in the warning is a flood watch for central, south central and western
Siskiyou County from today through Saturday morning.
In preparation for any potential flooding in Siskiyou County, sandbags and
sand will be available at the county road maintenance yards in Dorris, Happy
Camp and other cities. Workers will be at the yards from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
on weekdays.
At other times, people can call the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department's 24-hour dispatch number at (530) 841-2900 to make arrangements to pick up sandbags and sand.
