LINCOLN COUNTY — Lincoln County is recovering from historic flooding and a destructive windstorm with the help of local organizations that stepped in while officials waited for federal funding.
The severe weather events in December destroyed bridges and roads across the area, including the Granite Creek Road Bridge, which is now repaired. The damage prompted Lincoln County officials to apply for emergency federal funding.
"We ended up with a very significant flood event, one of the biggest in history at least for Lincoln County on record," Lincoln County Emergency Management Head Boyd White said.
It took about four months for the county to receive a major disaster declaration. President Donald Trump approved Governor Greg Gianforte's federal disaster declarations in mid-April.
"It took us about four months for us to get our major disaster declaration. My understanding from the disaster declaration and the time frame that it took is that it wasn't all that unusual for one to take this amount of time," White said.
Because the emergency management agency could not wait to fix certain issues, officials connected with the LOR Foundation, an organization that supports projects in Mountain West communities.
"We work on the projects that Libby locals bring to us to help the community...and we help facilitate them through either funding, networking, or if it's funding we can't provide, helping them access grants and funding outside of the LOR Foundation," LOR Foundation Libby Community Officer Tabitha Viergutz said.
The foundation granted the agency thousands of dollars to buy resources for immediate needs. This included chainsaws, high-visibility safety clothing, and a Starlink internet connection to hold the county over until federal funding arrived.
"We are very grateful for them, they have done a lot for our community, and they were able to step in and fill that gap in a much more efficient way than going through a grant process, that you don't know if you're going to get that grant," White said.
With federal funding secured and the foundation's help, the response to the devastation became an all-hands effort.
"It just took a lot of resources to you know fight this flood," White said.
