Dozens of people and several pets have been rescued from the Woodbine Campground after severe flooding along the Stillwater River closed five bridges, leaving campers stranded.
Justin Sheely, along withhis wife and 5-year-old daughter were just finishing up breakfast when the camp host approached their tent site. Though it had been raining when the family arrived the afternoon before and all through the night, Sheely was surprised to hear they were being evacuated.
“We were learning about the flooding (around the state) as we were leaving…it was surreal,” he said.
Campers are rafted down the Stillwater River by rescuers to escape high water that left them stranded at Woodbine Campground Monday.
Extensive flooding around Absarokee, Nye and Fishtail left several roads under water and impassable early Monday morning. As a result, all campers were instructed to pack their essentials and leave the rest behind, locked in their vehicles at the campground.
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For Sheely, that meant a cooler full of food was left to spoil in his car, and, unfortunately some other valuables were left behind. He estimated about 30 vehicles and campers were parked along the road up to the Sibanye-Stillwater Mine when they left.
Stillwater County Public Information Officer Tammie Mullikin said 68 campers and eight others near the area were rafted down the river by search and rescue crews Monday afternoon past the portion of the Nye Road that is now gone. Fireman’s Point, Riddles Cliff, Johnson Bridge, Spring Creek and the Old Nye campground bridges were all reported as closed or gone.
“They rafted down the river and were taken to the Nye Fire Hall and then to the shelter center set up at Anipro Arena (in Absarokee),” Mullikin said.
Justin Sheely takes a selfie as he rides a raft while being evacuated from the Woodbine Campground Monday.
There were two rafts transporting adults, babies and dogs downriver and over the flooded portions of road, according to Sheely. He estimated there was about 100 yards worth of road submerged. Sheely snapped photos with his cell phone as search and rescue directed the rafts to safety.
When campers arrived in Nye, vehicles from the Sibanye-Stillwater Mine were ready to transport evacuees to Absarokee, but a portion of the highway had been washed away. The shuttle drove through the prairie in order to skirt the destruction.
The flooding along the river from Nye to Absarokee is severe and Stillwater County officials are encouraging residents to get to higher ground and shelter in place. Rescue operations were conducted by the Stillwater County Search and Rescue and Absarokee Fire crews.
“I was really impressed with how well organized and calm (emergency services personnel) were,” Sheely said. “It was fairly smooth and frustration free.”
A bridge is washed out along the Stillwater River in this photo taken by a camper rescued from Woodbine Campground. Campers were rafted down the Stillwater River by rescuers to escape high water that left them stranded at Woodbine Campground Monday.
The Sibanyne-Stillwater mine reported Monday morning that 56 employees remained at the Nye mine site who were "keeping the site safe, as well as providing a place of refuge for campers that are arriving from the nearby Woodbine Campground," according to company Executive Vice President Wayne Robinson.
The Stillwater River Road and Nye Road remain closed. Brumfield Road off of Countryman Creek Road to the Interstate 90 ranch access is available as an alternative west route. All campgrounds south of I-90 are closed.
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