This month marks one year since the historic flooding of the Yellowstone River, where livelihoods, homes, and roads were in ruin in its wake.
Jason Mascari and his family live with a postcard-worthy view of the Yellowstone River, and in the past, they have seen their fair share of serious flooding. A flood wall is in place on their property, but Mascari says that he experienced nothing like the flooding of 2022.
“Imagine water just rushing across this—waist high or so—as it’s coming downstream and flowing past the neighbor’s house and it just keeps rising,” Mascari said.
The stretch of dirt road to the Mascari home became a rushing river as Search and Rescue teams jumped in jet boats to evacuate neighbors and dogs.
“It’s hard to believe that those guys were having a hard time getting their jet boat even out here—the water was moving so fast downstream,” Mascari said.
Mascari said that the first floor of his home was destroyed by the flood and the backyard was packed with mud. Walking down the road today, Mascari explains how one neighbor’s house was ruined beyond repair and had to be removed altogether.
“My neighbor’s home, which was unfortunately no longer here due to the flood that was so significant to them—they had to tear down their house, hitch is pretty heart-breaking. I mean that could have been us right?” Mascari said.
In the end, Mascari credits keeping a positive outlook amidst the flooding river as an important part of moving forward toward the future.
