Residents of the Wood River Valley wouldn't know that summer is officially just days away by looking out the window at the weather. Over the weekend and earlier this week, heavy rains and deafening thunderstorms continued to pound the region.
During a fast-moving storm last Friday, a lightning strike at an Idaho Power substation in Sun Valley knocked out power for several hours across portions of the north valley, Idaho Power officials said.
Conditions on Warm Springs Road west of Ketchum aren't helping dispel the dreary weather picture, either. On Sunday, Blaine County officials were forced to close the rural road for a second time this month after a large mudslide swept off surrounding hillsides.
County officials estimated the newest slide at five feet deep and close to 40 feet wide.
Although county officials said conditions out Warm Springs are still wet and slippery in places, they declared the road open to residents of the upper and lower Board Ranch neighborhoods on Tuesday. As of press time, the road remained closed to the general public.
According to Blaine County Commissioner Tom Bowman, crews from the county Road and Bridge Department have described the road situation as a "real mess."
While sunny weather did descend on the valley Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service is predicting more rain. The agency put the chance of thunderstorms occurring in Ketchum today at 60 percent.
However, the agency is predicting a return to partly to mostly sunny skies Thursday and Friday in Ketchum, which should help to dry the hills in Warm Springs canyon. Over the coming weekend, thunderstorms and rainfall is predicted to return once more.
One significant benefit to all the recent heavy rainfall is the likely delay of this summer's fire season, Sawtooth National Forest District Ranger Kurt Nelson told county commissioners Tuesday. As of Tuesday, the amount of rain that has fallen at the Ketchum Ranger Station on Sun Valley Road totaled 3.15 inches.
Ketchum normally receives about 1.32 inches of rain throughout the month of June, according to precipitation data collected at the ranger station since 1973.
"It should delay our fire season three weeks to a month," Nelson said.
Nelson commended the county's work in responding to the continuing mudslides out the Warm Springs Creek drainage, much of which burned in 2007 during the Castle Rock Fire. He specifically thanked the county's emergency services coordinator, Chuck Turner, for his hard work.
Nelson said Turner has been kept very busy responding to mudslides during odd hours of the week.
"It seems to occur on the weekends," he said.
On Tuesday, the Big Wood River continued to run high and fast. For the past two weeks, the river has remained at or above 4 feet at the Bullion Street Bridge measuring station near the mouth of Croy Canyon in Hailey. According to the National Weather Service's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, the Big Wood was running as high as 4.06 feet as recently as yesterday.
Official flood stage on the Big Wood is 6 feet as measured at the Bullion Street Bridge.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
Heavy rains caused another mudslide to sweep over Warm Springs Road west of Ketchum on Sunday. County officials have closed the road to public use, except for residents of the rural area. Photo by Willy Cook
