Hailey neighborhood still under mandatory flood evacuation order, additional residences added

Hailey, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —Flood evacuations are still in place for parts of Hailey due to rising waters along the Big Wood River.

Hailey Fire Chief Mike Baledge said the Big Wood River is running at almost above 6 feet, which is minor to moderate flooding. It is expected to hit roughly 7 feet next week, midway between moderate to major flooding.

On Tuesday, the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office and Hailey Fire Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for eight residences in the Della View subdivision, and three additional homes were added to the order Wednesday, along with the closing of Heagle Park.

“There are several things they can do. They can get hotel rooms. We do not have a shelter. There are not enough people that are going to be evacuated to set up a shelter. Local hotels are offering deals and things like that and help people out as much as they can,” Baledge said. “A couple of larger parking lots, such as the churches and all that, have opened their lots to RV parking.”

The fire chief said some residents under a mandatory flood evacuation have chosen to stay and defend their homes from the waters.

“They have signed some paperwork with the city and have chosen to stay,” Baledge said. “We can’t absolutely kick them out or arrest them for being on the property. We are just asking them to be as safe as possible.”

Baledge said flooding in the Della View neighborhood was uncommon for years but has become more common in recent years.

“We have had some degree of flooding every year since 2017,” Baledge said.

The record for flooding along the Big Wood River is approximately 8.4 feet in 2017. Some residents in the Della View subdivision do not expect flooding to get that high, but most are preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Della View resident Carmen Northen said she lives on Cedar Street, and the flooding has yet to reach her house. However, she said this is the third flood she has experienced in her neighborhood. The previous ones were in 2006 and 2017.

“It (flooding) will get up to our driveway and get up into our driveway. We have those bladders you fill with water, the aqua dams, and we will deploy those. We have a smaller one we have out up against our driveway to keep some [flood water out]. We had 8.36 feet in 2017, and we had no damage to our house,” Northen said.

The Hailey Fire Department is advising residents in the Della View subdivision that now is the time to acquire sandbags or prepare their homes for flooding if they still need to do it. Baledge said he imagines there will be some property damage if the water gets high enough.

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