Yellowstone County Emergency Services is preparing for the possibility of a 100 year flood event.
The Emergency Operations Center has been activated.
Emergency Services Director Brad Shoemaker said the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone is at a minor flood stage and the Yellowstone River is expected to reach flood stage later in the week.
There are no evacuations or road closures in the county.
The sand bag sites are ready and available at the Huntley Fire Station, the Worden Fire Station, the Blue Creek Fire Station, the Laurel Soccer Field and Amend Park.
The plan is to also have a shelter open at the Laurel Middle School and at the LDS church on Broadmoor in the heights.
Shoemaker estimates about 600 to 1,000 homes in the county would be affected by a 100 year flood.
"Our priority right now is public safety and responder safety,” said Shoemaker. "We’ve already been getting calls for folks near or on the river. We want to reduce those, so again please don’t be recreating on the river. The underpasses associated with railroads are going to be inundated with water, particularly if they’re close to the flood plane this year. And it may persist for quite a while. so if you come on one of those underpasses and there’s water there, choose a different route to get there. There’s quite a lot of streets to choose from and it would be beneficial to take some extra time."
Shoemaker said maps showing how the flood might affect areas near the river are available on the county website.
