Remember When?

30 YEARS AGO • JUNE 7, 1990

HIGH RUN-OFF PEAKS EARLY

Although the spectacular rush of high, muddy water attracted a lot of attention to the Thompson Falls dam this weekend, the flow was minor compared to historic high flows for the Clark Fork.

According to Steve Saint at the Montana Power Company plant in Thompson Falls, the flow of the Clark Fork across the Thompson Falls Dam was 58,000 cubic feet per second Monday and 61,830 cfs Saturday, the peak of the current run-off.

And judging from historical flows, the peak may have occurred. A cursory search of high flow records showed when peak flows occur they generally happen in May or early June.

The last major flood of the Thompson Falls area came in 1964, when the riverflow reached 117,500 cfs. And although that storm brought major damage to the surrounding area, it was far below the peak flow of 164,520 cfs that came May 1 of 1948. That record flow came before the Hungry Horse Dam was installed, a facility that virtually controls the flows of the Flathead River and Clark Fork River system. That was also before the construction of the Noxon Rapids Dam in western Sanders County.

The flood of 1964 covered the Thompson River Road below Snider, stranding residents on the upstream side. It also rearranged the Prospect Creek valley and created the new sport of “scuba golf” at the River’s Bend Golf Course when the No. 1 and 2 fairways were flooded almost to the timber line.

Much of the damage of that rampage was along the area’s drainages as they flowed into the Clark Fork. At Cherry Creek, the bridge washed out leaving the Curran and Saint families stranded, and between Cougar Gulch and Deep Creek and the Vermilion River, families were stuck until repairs could be made.

Damage to the Vermilion River bridge near Trout Creek was sufficient to render the facility passable by foot traffic only.

One of the hardest hit areas was the West Fork of the Thompson River, a busy area for logging. Numerous chunks of road were washed away in that drainage resulting in $40,000 in damage, according to Logging Contractor John Oliver who was working in the area at the time.

The flooding conditions paralleled those of this week, however, with the high water conditions a result of heavy rains (2.23 inches fell two days before the 1964 peak) falling on above average snowpack. Ironically, the week before the heavy rains and high water, the City of Thompson Falls served notice that water restrictions would be in effect immediately.

The highest flows of the Clark Fork and their occurrence are 164,520, June 1, 1948; 121,120, June 21, 1950; 117,920 May 12, 1947; 117,500 June 10, 1964; 113,300, May 26, 1956; 109,120, May 27, 1951; 105,920, May 18, 1949; 101,920, May 22, 1954.

It was noted in an article in The Ledger for June 11, 1964, the boom broke in the reservoir. The local power plant recorded 94,000 cfs of water.

Former Montana Power Company manager Chuck Duffield recalled one time that when high waters came to the old operating system of the dam, in an emergency crews had to cut loose the steel supports that held the boards that kept the pool filled behind the dam. Because of the force exhibited by the water on the boards or planks, once the water pressure reached a certain level, crews were unable to extract the boards to allow the water to flow through the dam. By cutting loose the steel supports, the flow could be increased substantially and thus lower the risks of serious flooding upstream of the dam or damage to facilities.

Later, in the spring of 1996, after the above article was written the water flow peaked at 101,500 cfs.

LOCAL FOOD STORE GAINS NEW OWNERS

After 30 months of operation in Thompson Falls, Falls Empire Foods is changing hands as Larry and Lisa Wadsworth and Rod and Rita Arlint have purchased the store.

It was previously owned by the Lapka family of Bigfork.

Rod and Rita were in Thompson Falls this week as they prepared the building for the transfer of ownership. But although they and the employees were performing a multitude of housecleaning chores, they remained open for business.

The family currently also owns and operates Rod’s IGA in St. Ignatius, and this store will be similar to that, although initially it won’t be an IGA store. Rod explained as well that the store will be called Larry’s Foods, as Larry Wadsworth will be the co-owner and manager. Larry and Lisa are currently arranging to be married and have not yet moved to the Thompson Falls area. They hope to get that accomplished within the next few months and then he will take over fulltime management of the store.

Falls Empire Foods was purchased from Chris and Herb Stobie in January of 1988 and has operated under that name since then. Empire also operated a store in Plains, but that has since closed. Although no immediate changes are planned, Rod expressed that the long term goal is to remodel the store and make it as attractive as possible to shoppers. “Right now our goal is to offer quality merchandise at competitive prices,” he expressed.

Happy anniversary, Larry and Lisa!