STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY ED NORTHEN
Evacuation orders were lifted for the Della View neighborhood in Hailey Tuesday afternoon as river levels began to come down.
But War Eagle Road remains closed to non-residents and residents driving on the road are asked to be alert for crumbling roadway edges.
Further north, homeowners in seven residences along Gimlet Ridge Road that were evacuated on May 20, are being allowed back into their homes as Idaho Power crews restore power. But the residences are still in Set Pre-Evacuation status meaning they should be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
The water is running higher in that area than in Hailey, likely due to new channels created by the 2017 flood.
Residents of Wilderness Drive remain in Ready, or Red, status meaning they’ve prepared their home and family to evacuate, they have a go kit packed and a plan for pets and family members with special needs.
Warm Springs Road, which had been closed beyond the Board Ranch where the dirt starts, reopened late Monday. But Trail Creek Summit Road will remain closed for another couple weeks until crews can repair damage caused by washouts.
Officials issued a mandatory flood evacuation notice for 15 residents in the Della View area two weeks ago. Ed Northen, a retired Orange County firefighter, has been taking pictures to document where the water in the Della View subdivision is at different heights on the Hailey River gauge.
“We had water up to our driveway but not up our driveway. It also flowed up Cedar Street, past our home to a few houses above us,” he said. “We kept one sump pump running but did not run the second one. We also bought water bladders, rather than rely on sandbags like we did in the last flood. But we hope we won’t have to deploy it.”
The Big Wood River was at 5.7 feet at midday Wednesday. Moderate flooding occurs in Della View at 6.0 feet. The river level is expected to fluctuate between 5.5 and 6.0 over the next several days, but temperatures are expected to remain in the 60s, keeping flooding at minor levels.