Toward the end of March, Wyoming residents found themselves faced with heavy rainfall and extreme flooding in their houses. But now, the flooding has receded and homes are beginning to dry out.
Homeowners are always looking for ways to save a little money or make a few extra dollars. In fact, Home Advisor says the average basement remodel can have up to a 70% return on investment. Unfortunately for homeowners in Jackson, Wyoming, they need to wait a little longer before they can even think about doing work on their homes.
Some residents saw as much as eight feet of standing water in their basements as an effect of the rain and melting snow. Jackson Hole News and Guide says Teton County resident Elaine Infanger is one of those residents. Infanger and her husband were in California when a neighbor called them to alert them that his basement was flooding, which meant theirs likely was as well. The couple hopped on a plane back home the night they got the call and when they arrived at their house, they found their basement to be a lake and their furniture floating around the room.
While the damaged furniture is upsetting enough, Infanger and her husband say they are more concerned about the waterlogged family photo albums. The pair has been ripping up the floor and plans to let the basement dry out for a month before attempting to remodel.
Even though the flooding isn’t in their basements anymore, Infanger hopes this doesn’t happen again.
“We’re hoping Teton County and other services can do something to help us not have water devastate our homes in the future,” Infanger said. “I have this mess to clean up, but my worry is it’s going to pop back in.”
This flood was the first significant one that has happened in the Teton County area for decades. So, it is likely that this won’t happen again any time soon, but there is still the fear.
According to the Billings Gazette, The Federal Emergency Management Agency said they will be giving central Wyoming a $2.9 million grant to help pay for flood damage that occurred in 2017. While this isn’t covering the most recent flooding, there’s hope for more funding in the future.