Flood Recovery

NorthWestern Energy crews worked around the clock to safely restore service after historic flooding in Montana and Yellowstone National Park.

In June, historic flooding washed out bridges and roads and caused severe property damage in several areas of Montana. The National Guard was called in to assist with rescues of stranded recreationalists and other members of the public, including small children. Yellowstone National Park closed.

NorthWestern Energy crews worked around the clock, safely, to monitor flood damage, make repairs and restore service.

“The dedication of NorthWestern Energy’s employees to get the power back on in Montana communities and Yellowstone Park experiencing extreme flood damage was remarkable,” said NorthWestern Energy CEO Bob Rowe. “They kept our customers and their co-workers safe while working in harsh and challenging conditions. Their response during this natural disaster contributed significantly to flood recovery.”

More than 400 homes in Carbon County, Montana, were evacuated during the flood, which severely damaged or destroyed more than two dozen residences and businesses and washed out or damaged 13 bridges. Two of the three 50-kilovolt transmission lines that feed the Red Lodge community, population 2,260, were washed out in the flood, causing the community to lose power at 2 p.m. on June 13. Crews successfully placed a pole about 100 feet from the flooded river bank and restored power by 11:30 p.m.

Flood damage caused an outage on NorthWestern Energy’s 69-kilovolt transmission line serving Yellowstone National Park and communities north of the park. Highways and roads were closed due to flooding, rock slides and washed-out bridges. The town of Gardiner, Montana, at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, was completely isolated. The park was evacuated, but visitors who left through the North Entrance had to stop in Gardiner (already crowded with visitors), because the road to go any farther had been washed out. Everyone pitched in to help take care of the stranded visitors, who appreciated the kindness.

A helicopter flew seven NorthWestern Energy crew members, along with tools, equipment and materials, into the area. A contract line crew that had been working in the Gardiner pivoted to help repair the line. Crews flew back on the following day, completed repairs and restored power.

Floodwaters washed out a bridge downstream of NorthWestern Energy’s Mystic Dam project, preventing two of the three journeymen plant operators from getting to the site. The Mystic Dam project, a 12-megawatt generation resource, is located at an elevation of 7,600 feet in the rugged Beartooth Mountains. The journeyman onsite hiked two miles up the mountain in the storm to pull dam flash boards to prevent overtopping at the dam. Because of remaining ice on the water and debris, the reservoir elevation was rising quickly. A helicopter transported the other two journeymen to the site.

That evening, a highway opened for emergency traffic, and NorthWestern Energy crews retrieved their vehicles.

Mystic Dam operated as designed with no risk to its integrity and kept water levels downstream managed. Without NorthWestern Energy’s Mystic Dam, the flood impact in Stillwater County, Montana, which was severe, would have been considerably worse.

“Our employees show up every single day ready and willing to do what it takes to safely deliver reliable energy to our customers and the communities we serve,” Bob said. “They worked closely with Yellowstone Park, and with the affected communities downriver. Their work during the June flooding in Montana is an example of their commitment, as was the great work of our South Dakota employees only several weeks later in response to severe wind events.”