Jeff Henry and his mom Roberta's flood recovery

In the early morning hours on Monday, June 13th, Jeff was navigating flood waters with a row boat in an effort to rescue his 91 year old mother, Roberta. Her house stands along the bank of the Yellowstone River and was already surrounded by flood waters making evacuation by means other than boat impossible. The water levels rose so quickly that by the time Jeff and his friends were able to paddle to the house, it was clear that the row boat was no longer a safe option for leaving – even before they could make it to the house the water level had risen and the current had strengthened to the point where the rowboat could no longer be controlled by the oars alone, and Jeff had to resort to wading in water as high as his chest to tow the boat while one of his companions continued to ply the oars and the other kept watch for oncoming logs and other debris that could have knocked Jeff off his feet or upset the boat. Once at the house, Jeff and his mother watched as her back porch was ripped away in the rising current, fences were swept downstream, and the river began flowing through her house. They had minimal time to move anything off the floor in the hopes of saving it before the flood waters took over and they were left to watch the devastation. Water levels around and within the house were rising so rapidly that Jeff placed a ladder on his mother’s front porch, which they intended to use to take refuge on the roof of the house if necessary; fortunately everyone was rescued by motorboat before that desperate move became necessary. The house, though still standing, will take unknown thousands of dollars to repair. Multiple vehicles were totaled in the flooding as well, cases and cases of books Jeff had stored in his mother’s garage (he is a photographer and author) were sitting in feet of water, and a lifetime of memories and household goods for both of them were lost. Jeff also had three irrigation and fire fighting pumps stored in his mother’s barn; they were flooded and ruined in water that reached a depth of 46” in the barn. He also parked his pickup truck in a location that historically would have been safe from flooding while he and his two companions embarked on the rescue mission by boat to his mother’s house, but unfortunately the river rose to such an unprecedented extent that the pickup was submerged and ruined as well.

Now that the floodwaters have receded, an almost incomprehensible amount of loss and destruction has been revealed. Almost all the fences around Roberta’s property have been swept away. Every piece of a firewood pile that amounted to 8-10 winters’ worth of fuel is gone. Many, many tons of flotsam have been left behind by the flood waters, with the debris ranging in size from twigs to logs as large as four feet in diameter and 75 feet long – some of the logs are entire trees, including some with the foliage still attached. Roberta’s house, garage and barn are filled with silt to the depth of 30”. Carpet has been ruined and furniture damaged. Some sections of Roberta’s driveway have eroded to the depth of two feet, while drifts of silt and sand cover other sections of the driveway to heights of several feet. Many items such as lawn furniture and barbecue grills, as well as tools and equipment from the barn, have been swept away entirely – at this point it is not even possible to compile a complete list of what is missing. Jeff’s mother has been seriously traumatized by it all.

Unfortunately Roberta’s homeowners insurance will not cover these expenses. She has lived in that house for 32 years and never imagined the river would run so high. Please, if you have the means to help Jeff and his mother begin the long road to rebuilding, they would be so grateful. Jeff has been part of the Yellowstone community for 45 years. During that time, he has been involved with rescue efforts, firefighting, and beyond. If it’s a job with park service or any of the park’s concessionaires, he’s done it. He has been a teacher and mentor on so many levels. For 44 years, he has called in an honor to be a winterkeeper in Yellowstone and he constantly says “It doesn’t get any better than this” when referring to clearing snow from roofs and enjoying the solitude it offers. Now is our opportunity to help him! Let’s find a way to show how community support “doesn’t get any better than this”. Thank you for considering whatever donation is possible. It takes a village and together we can help Roberta and Jeff get through this.