by John Dowd
Last Wednesday, wind and rain swept through the valley. Gusts as high as 88 miles per hour were recorded in the Bitterroot, specifically in Stevensville. The highest recorded winds in Western Montana were up to 96 miles per hour, recorded in Bigfork, according to Montana Public Radio.
Trees were downed and power went out in multiple areas. According to NorthWestern Energy, they still had crews working on returning power as of Friday last week. By then there were still over 35,000 homes without power. Some phone lines went down, and several schools and businesses in the area closed. The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office issued a travel warning, and first responders were overwhelmed with calls.
Hamilton saw numerous trees downed in town, falling onto businesses and private homes, including a few historic ones. In a post on Facebook, Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf said,
Damaged power poles and trees down on Daly Ave, in Hamilton. Photo by Edie Ellingson.
“Yesterday was a tough day. We are so appreciative and proud of how neighbors watched out for one another and City, County, State, and Federal agencies and services, as well as Ravalli Electric Co-op and NorthWestern Energy personnel; all were there for our community.
We appreciate all of our first responders including the Hamilton Police Department, the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department and all area firefighters, the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Department and all ancillary services, including Ravalli County Dispatch.
“A sincere thank you to our essential City Services and Departments, with a special nod to our City Streets Department and Parks & Urban Forestry Department personnel who were out as soon as it was safe to begin the cleaning up process.
“Damage from the wind storm is still being assessed. Some residents did not fare as well as others and our heart goes out to those whose homes were damaged. In the coming days residents will continue to need help cleaning up from the storm. If you are able bodied and can help your neighbor who is less capable we encourage you to.
“We also want residents to be aware that our area may see a large accumulation of snow and elevated wind gusts at higher elevations. It is not predicted they will be the damaging winds that we experienced on Wednesday.
“Adversity . . . well, you know the quote, it only makes you stronger. Hang in there friends. Hamilton has our heart.”
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