Big Sky Times

When historic flooding washed over parts of Montana last June, homes were washed away, leaving many people to wonder what became of them, and for others like Park City resident Mike Kinsey, the disaster sparked so many problems they don’t know which way to turn.

Montana Disaster and Emergency Services personnel, according to a KPAX TV report, point out that parts of some homes washed up onto sandbars in rivers, while many were splintered into pieces, with crews pulling debris from creeks and rivers statewide and placing the materials in six locations. The report also noted the cleanup, which started in April, is likely to move up to 100,000 cubic yards of debris and could take months, with 6,000 cub yards already moved.

Like many, Kinsey, a veteran, lost his home when it fell into the Yellowstone River to be washed five miles downstream, coming to rest on a sandbar, according to KPAX. He had constructed the home from telephone poles, using a chainsaw, according to the report.

“It was pretty dramatic when it left here,” he told the station as he looked at the property. “This is where the house sat, and this was the very back of the house. These are my water lines going out to where my house was out here.”

The flood washed away the home, which was his primary residence, and he now resides in an RV on the land where his house once stood, according to KPAX.

“Other than a miracle, I don't know what I'm going to do here,” he told the station.

Moreover, Jake Ganieany, chief of recovery and mitigation for the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services Bureau, told KPAX there is a lot of debris, with most of the home materials likely headed to landfills and vegetation likely to be incinerated.

“We’ll burn it down to almost nothing,” he told the station. “It's really clean and efficient, and we can burn several hundred thousand cubic yards of debris really quickly.”

The clock is ticking on removal of debris as spring water levels begin to rise, Ganieany said, according to the news outlet, with the price tag for debris removal at $3 million and likely to rise.

“We’re doing this as quickly, safely and efficiently as we can,” he told the station. “That will help avoid future flooding impacts.”

The cleanup effort is being funded by a FEMA public assistance grant that will cover about 75% of the cost, while the remainder is being paid for by a non-federal sharing.

Kinsey held an old photograph of his property, according to the report, one of the few things he has, aside from his memories.

“This was taken in 1997,” he told KPAX as he shared memories of the photo. “You can see all these cottonwoods. This one was still in the yard when the house went. That one and this one over here, they all went that night.”