Last week Ernst, his wife Noi and renter Sue Weidner piled the same sandbags they used in '97 to stem the flow to 100 Tower St., the lowest of the Ernsts' five rentals. On Tuesday, he recalled May 22-23 of 14 years ago, which, while nerve-wracking, resulted in little damage to the Tower Street houses.

The water lapped up against the sandbags, but no farther.

"The sandbags basically saved us," Ernst said.

It was a beautiful day in the 80s when the water approached. Ernst said he bought a keg of beer, invited friends over and sandbagged around the 100 Tower St. house, which was a barracks building at Fort Missoula in an earlier life.

"We watched the water come up there on Channel Drive (across the street)," Ernst said.

At one point, Weidner said, she and Ernst paddled a canoe down the street.

"The next day the water was halfway up the sandbags. It would have been running out over the road, but the county decided, since (Tower) was a new paved road, that they would come and sandbag me into the river. I don't think they'll do that this time," Ernst said.

While it's good to be prepared, Ernst and his neighbors don't expect to push any panic buttons.