Comstock Park - The ice jam along the Grand River is backing water up all the way to Comstock Park and no one is certain what additional communities upstream will soon be in danger.
For some people the only way to get to their homes along Grand River is by foot.
Chris Marklevitch and Richard Kain live in Belmont and today they worked their way across parts of the icy Grand River to check on their property. The National Weather Service says heavy snow and bitter cold temperatures over the weekend caused the ice jam to make a big leap east all the way through Grand Rapids to Comstock Park.
At this rate, officials say, its impossible to predict how far the ice will reach up the river, and how many more communities will flood before there is a thaw. Mark Walton is a National Weather Service Hydrologist, "If things get real crazy then you've got Alticor, Amway you know and Ada which is along the Grand River. They have to watch real closely the ice buildup there and if the ice jam continues to work its way up stream then you've got issues in Lowell."
To relieve the problem, hydrologists say a gradual warm up is needed to slowly melt the ice jam and let it flow out into Lake Michigan.
Unfortunatley, Walton says, that's not usually what happens. "Odds are we'll get a warm up possibly with some rain a quick melt rapid runoff rapid rises in rivers which cause for a quick breakup of the ice jam and thats kind of your worst scenario." Late this afternoon, the Grand River dropped below flood stage at Comstock Park, but that's just because the ice jam is preventing more water from flowing down that far. Stay with WZZM 13 News on air and online for continuing coverage of this story.
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