Yellowstone River receding; Billings flood warning canceled


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Flooding in Yellowstone National Park threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montana’s largest city on Wednesday. 

However, on Thursday, the National Weather Service office in Billings said that the flood warning for the river in Billings had been canceled. 

“Water levels will continue to quickly recede today. Please continue to heed all road closures, and be alert for damage to rural roads that were flooded,” it said in a tweet. 

The Yellowstone River – the residents’ water source – had raced past at a historic level of 16 feet. 

MONTANA NATIONAL GUARD LAUNCHES RESCUE MISSIONS FOR PEOPLE STRANDED BY ‘SIGNIFICANT’ FLOODING

The city was forced to shut down its treatment plant, because it couldn’t operate effectively with water levels that high, and had only a 24- to 36-hour supply, asking the people there to conserve. 

Billings had stopped watering parks and the fire department filled its trucks with river water. 

The nation’s oldest national park said it was taking precautionary measures to make sure wastewater and water treatment facilities are not failing. 

Officials in Park County, including Gardiner, said on Facebook on Monday night that flooding had made drinking water unsafe in many areas. 

PARTS OF YELLOWSTONE COULD REMAIN CLOSED FOR ‘SUBSTANTIAL LENGTH’ AFTER FLOODING

The event has closed the park to visitors and more than 10,000 were evacuated.

The National Guard in Montana has rescued 87 people, according to the Department of Defense.

The floods, which hit following heavy rain combined with melting mountain snow, damaged hundreds of homes and washed out roads and bridges, but no one was reported hurt or killed. 

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The northern part of the park will be closed for an extended period of time, according to officials. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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