The Wood River Valley's greening grass is deceiving.
With 154 percent of normal snowpack—and water—still in the mountains, the potential for flooding in the Big Wood River and its tributaries is huge.
Drought has dominated the weather for the past three decades. Only a small percentage of people living in the Wood River Valley today have ever seen the Big Wood River and its tributaries turn from friendly trickles to swollen and roaring rushes of water.
Even though Blaine County has already declared itself a disaster area in anticipation of flooding, it's easy to ignore the danger not only to property, but also to adults, children and pets.
Stories about the danger are abundant. A retired local law enforcement officer tells the story of a person who was washed away while trying to ride a horse across the Big Wood in the springtime in the 1960s. The person died despite heroic rescue efforts that spanned miles of the river.
More common stories involve people trying to rescue foolish dogs from spring's raging waters.
The water deceives would-be rescuers into believing they can wade in and retrieve their mutts. They end up in a fight for their own lives when the water knocks them off their feet, bashes them against rocks, or traps them in tangled "strainers" composed of fallen trees and limbs.
The message here is clear: Beware the big water. Don't be deceived by sunny days into believing there is no danger. Keep children and pets well away from the river and its tributaries.
Property can be replaced. Lives cannot.
