Gov. Gianforte Visits Communities Rebuilding From Flooding

• June 21 2022

ABSAROKEE, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today met with first responders, residents, small business owners, and agricultural producers in Carbon and Stillwater counties as communities in the region rebuild from flooding.

“Flooding has taken a devastating toll on communities in south-central Montana, washing away roads, bridges, family homes, and agricultural infrastructure,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Meeting with residents today, I reiterated the state’s commitment to bringing its resources to bear to support them as they recover and rebuild.”

Gov. Gianforte surveys flood damage alongside local rancher in Fromberg

Beginning in Carbon County, Gov. Gianforte received an incident command briefing on recovery efforts in Red Lodge and met with county commissioners.

A gateway community to Yellowstone National Park, Red Lodge helps Carbon County bring in $68 million annually from tourism.

“I’ll be at the Red Lodge Rodeo this 4^th of July weekend, and I encourage Montanans to come down for a weekend trip, buy a ticket to the rodeo, and support local businesses here in south-central Montana this summer,” Gov. Gianforte said.

From Red Lodge, the governor traveled to Fromberg where he held a town hall to discuss damage and recovery with residents.

“Part of our Montana creed is neighbor helping neighbor, and that’s just what we’ve seen over the past week here in Fromberg,” Gov. Gianforte said. “They have our full support as they rebuild.”

Gov. Gianforte takes questions from residents in Fromberg during a town hall

Continuing to Stillwater County, the governor received an incident command briefing in Columbus before heading to Absarokee.

Rich Cowger, incident commander in Columbus, emphasized the strong coordination and cooperation between local, county, state, and federal officials throughout the flood response.

“None of our organizations have the depth and capacity to do all of this on our own, so it’s absolutely critical we work with each other, put differences aside, come together as a team to make all of this come together for the benefit of the citizens that we serve,” Cowger said.

In Absarokee, the governor joined local officials and first responders to meet with residents, including those whose homes were damaged by the flooding.

Gov. Gianforte declared a statewide disaster in Montana due to heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt causing rivers, creeks, and low-lying areas in certain regions of Montana to flood. Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state secured a presidential major disaster declaration for Park, Stillwater, and Carbon counties.

Yesterday, Gov. Gianforte traveled to Kalispell to survey flood damage as the state gathers data to add Flathead County to the presidential major disaster declaration. Last Friday, the governor surveyed flood damage in Gardiner, convening a roundtable with local business owners to discuss response and recovery efforts.

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