REXBURG, Idaho — Lee Munns was 19 years old when a massive wall of water covered the valley around his family farm. While their home suffered minimal damage, he remembers riding on horseback with his father, Lyrin Munns to help people around town.
“You looked out there, and it was just a lake, but as far as you can see,” Munns recalled. “The whole valley looked destroyed beyond repair.”
Details of the dam failure
On June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam came apart during its inaugural fill. About 80 billion gallons of water spread across the area, taking out the towns of Wilford and Sugar City, severely damaging much of Rexburg, leaving impacts and major flooding in other surrounding towns. Eleven people were killed, and tens of thousands of livestock were lost.
Lasting physical damage to farmland
On several acres of farmland that Munns purchased about five years ago in Wilford, you can still find gaping holes, piles of debris and the remnants of tractors from the storm.
Lee Munns looks out at exposed lava rock and gaping holes that remain from the massive flood in 1976. (Mike Anderson, KSL)
“It's washed it right down to bedrock, and got holes 50 and 60 feet deep,” Munns described. “The force of the water was just sweeping the houses right off the foundations.”
The impact of volunteer efforts
Alongside the many reminders of the disaster, there are also signs of the long hours volunteers and others put in to clean up and rebuild.
“They had so many organizations that would drop a busload of people off, and they'd have shovels and rakes,” Munns recalled. “Just did whatever you needed done.”
Rexburg's 50th anniversary celebrations
The City of Rexburg started celebrating that spirit of service months ago, asking people to give 50 acts or 50 hours of service, in honor of the legacy that many volunteers helped build in the wake of the disaster. The bulk of the activities will happen this weekend, June 5 and 6.
A poster in Rexburg City hall, advertising Flood 50 events. (Mike Anderson, KSL)
Community solidarity and service memories
Lisa Smith, who was 14 at the time of the dam failure, remembers seeing the whole community work together.
“My mom and my sisters and I, we helped wash clothes for victims,” Smith recalled. “They sent us all these jeans that had been hosed down, allegedly. They were so caked and covered with mud.”
She added that with the flood of people, coming from around the country, there was a sense of solidarity and love.
“There was no bitterness, no anger,” Smith explained. “I felt there was a real spirit of giving and a lot of true Christlike love.”
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