Clark Fork Power Line Closure Finally Lifted, Nearly Three Months Later

A section of river near Missoula has been blocked off for months after flooding collapsed infrastructure and led to some hazardous conditions. Montana FWP Public Information Officer Vivaca Crowser explains.

"We have had a stretch of the Clark Fork from the Reserve Street bridge to the upstream side of the Kelly Island Access Site that has been closed for almost three months since the power line fell into that section of river when the flooding was occurring back in May," Crowser said.

Yesterday, Crowser announced that the closure had finally been lifted.

"The lines have been removed," Crowser said. "Northwestern Energy was able to remove them. We just reopened the river today, which means that here we are August 1 and all stretches of river and all the access sites are open again. We had most of our sites reopened about a month ago and boy to just now have everything open is kid of unique."

Crowser said crews waited till later in the summer to remove the line so that the river could drop, making the power lines easier and safer to remove.