KOTA Territory NewsFlooding concerns lessen as water recedes in Belle Fourche

Flooding concerns lessen as water recedes in Belle Fourche

As water levels on creeks and streams around Belle Fourche go down, the realization sets in that it could have been worse.

The county and city are reporting no injuries and no active shelters.

"As far as here in town, we're thankful that none of our volunteers got hurt or city workers or anything like that. I haven't heard of any reports of such," said Hendrickson.

The Belle Fourche River is just over flood stage and holding.

Water from the Red Water and Hay Creeks are receding.

All of the streets in Belle Fourche are open except for two, including Eighth Avenue between Edmunds and State.

Firefighters have been pumping water since yesterday and most of the work is done.

"We have one pump in place over on Edmunds and Fourth. Other than that, the pumps have been pulled, the water has receded so we won't have any more flooding on our streets here," said Hendrickson.

With Belle Fourche out of the worst of the flooding, the water is still visibly high in Fruitdale, spilling onto farm land.

Butte County Emergency Management still cautions traveling unless it's an emergency.

It tells us numerous rural roads in the county remain closed.

"The Sheriff's Department and the county people have been monitoring different sites to keep an eye on where we're at. The roads are some of them are impassable. There's no sense going out and rutting them up," said Hendrickson.

As the water recedes, Mayor Hendrickson says he's extremely thankful for the 140 volunteers who came from as far away as Sturgis to help.

"Words just can't describe how the community showed up to help out everybody in need. It was awesome," said Hendrickson.

The Butte County Extension Office is currently compiling information on property damage during the flooding. It can be reached at 892-3371.