Remembering the Teton Flood

Summary

Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the dam break, that spewed 80-billion gallons of water throughout the Upper Valley.

Story Published: Jun 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jun 6, 2009 at 5:58 PM MDT

Remembering the Teton Flood
REXBURG - Announcer: It's coming apart. At 11:57 AM on June 5th, 1976, the Teton Dam collapsed, flooding homes, farms, and the Upper Snake Valley with 80 billion gallons of water.

"This is the history of Rexburg. We have a history that dates back to 1883, but this event had a tremendous impact," said Museum Director Jill Spencer.

Its been 33 years since the dam broke and a way to commemorate this event is by picking up a free bumper sticker at the Museum.
"we're remembering," said Spencer.

The Flood is attracting people from as far away as Houston.
"It's really good some of the hardships of people that have gone through... It could happen us sometime," said Lary Mitsch.

The dam became a 6 mile wide river, moving houses, killing cattle, and washing away an entire valley.

Don Ellis a radio announcer, didn't have words for what happened.
"holy... Great... What can I say, people better get out."

ANNOUNCER: "Most residents were evacuated to higher ground, where they watched the eerie occurrence of houses and belongings floating away."

Everything had to be re-built, and that's why Rexburg doesn't have a building older than 33 years.

Quran burning

A Florida pastor says he is likely to burn copies of the Quran on September 11th. Gen. David Petraeus says the action could endanger US troops. The pastor says he's just standing up to radical Islam. What do you think of the idea?

  • A stupid idea. His symbolic protest puts real soldiers in danger, and shows the world we practice the same intolerance we condemn in our enemy.
  • A great idea. We need to spend less time worrying about whether our enemies in this war might be offended. If this is how he chooses to express himself, I'm all for it.
  • Not sure.