In Billings, a town in southern Montana where nearly 120,000 people live, officials urged residents to save water after floods shut down a local water plant, according to a press release Wednesday. And officials in Gardnier, Mont. warned residents that the water supply was contaminated and demanded that all drinking water be boiled before consumption. The park will be closed for the rest of the week as officials prepare for more flooding in four to five days, when the forecast requires rain and high temperatures that could melt the rest of the snow in the Yellowstone Mountains. Here are some scenes of damage: Residents of Red Lodge, Mont., A town northeast of Yellowstone, cleared mud, water and debris from Tuesday’s main street. Near the entrance to Yellowstone, floodwaters washed away part of North Entrance Road on the Gardner River. A house in Red Lodge in Rock Creek was pulled from the raging flood waters. Officials say more than 100 homes in the city have been flooded. The Yellowstone River overflowed and caused bridges – including the Carbella Bridge – to collapse, flooding homes in the Gardnier. Residents quickly mobilized on Facebook to find shelter for displaced families. “Friends of Montana, they take care of their own,” said Britton Gray, a pastor at the Gardiner Baptist Church who helped find shelter for families whose homes were affected. Patrick Gray stands in the floodwaters around his home in Livingstone, Mont., North of Yellowstone. A house south of Livingston was surrounded by floodwaters. David Armstrong threw a bucket of water from a flooded basement at Red Lodge. The Montana Department of Transportation worked Wednesday to repair another highway bridge that was damaged by flooding. The northern half of the park, which suffered the most damage, is likely to remain closed for the rest of the summer travel season.
