Montana’s largest city has restarted its water plant after shutting it down amid record flooding that’s caused widespread damage in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities
Crews work to fill in sections of residential streets washed away by recent floodwaters in Red Lodge, Mont., Thursday, June 16, 2022. – This gateway town to Yellowstone National Park has become a dead end, a casualty of the severe flooding that tore through one of America’s most beloved natural attractions and swept away roads, bridges and homes.
Red Lodge is facing a double disaster: It will have to clean up the damage done by the deluge to parts of town and also figure out how to survive without the summer business that normally sustains it for the rest of the year.“Winters are hard in Red Lodge,” Chris Prindiville said as he hosed mud from the sidewalk outside his shuttered cafe, which had no fresh water or gas for his stoves.
Dean had been counting on a busy summer tied to the park's 150th anniversary. The Yodeler had the most bookings in the 13 years Dean and his wife have owned the business. Now he's hoping to get some help, possibly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The flooding — triggered by a combination of torrential rain and rapid snowmelt — hit just as hotels around Yellowstone were filling up with summer tourists. June is typically one of Yellowstone’s busiest months.The tourism season had started well for Cara McGary, who guides groups through the Lamar Valley to see wolves, bison, elk and bears. She had seen more than 20 grizzlies some days this year.
“Town is eerie right now,” Katie Gale said Wednesday. “We had all those folks trapped in here, and then as soon as they opened the road … it was just like someone just pulled the plug in bathtub.” “Montana and Wyoming still exist. I don’t know how I can convince these people,” Ondrus said. “Once our water quality is good and our law enforcement thinks it’s OK, we’re good to go again. It’s still a destination. You can still horseback ride, go to cowboy cookouts, hike in the national forest.”That could be a tall order for anyone coming from the south or east sides of the park who had hoped to exit in the north.
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