BILLINGS — The Yellowstone County courthouse remains closed four days after a sprinkler pipe was accidentally struck during renovations, and restoration crews are continuing to dry the building to restore court operations.
Take a look inside the courthouse after flooding in the video below:
County leaders say they are optimistic district and justice court operations could resume as early as Wednesday if environmental testing clears the building for occupancy.
The flooding began around 8 a.m. Thursday when crews with Sletten Construction working on the courthouse renovation accidentally hit a sprinkler pipe. Water flowed through the third floor and into the basement for about 10 minutes, leaving several inches of standing water on multiple floors and forcing the courthouse to close.
Related: Yellowstone County Courthouse closes after sprinkler line break causes flooding
Newman Restoration spent the weekend and Monday morning drying the building with industrial fans and assessing the damage.
Yellowstone County Commissioner Mark Morse said the building already looks dramatically different than it did immediately after the flooding.
"I was over there right after it happened and there was water cascading down the stairs, from the third to the second to the first," Morse said.
Morse said one of the courthouse elevators also remains out of service after floodwater entered the shaft, while the second elevator is operational.
The courthouse's upper floors avoided significant damage because they operate on a separate air-handling system, reducing concerns about mold contamination.
Chief District Judge Brett Linneweber told MTN News he hopes district and justice court operations can resume Wednesday once the fourth through eighth floors are cleared for use.
Until then, several hearings and court functions have been relocated.
Criminal law and motion hearings before Judge Ashley Harada are scheduled to take place Tuesday morning at the John V. Ostlund Building, while arraignments will continue at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.
Involuntary commitment hearings are being held at Billings Clinic, and juvenile delinquency proceedings are taking place at the county's youth detention facility.
Linneweber said most hearings canceled because of the flooding are expected to be rescheduled within two weeks, and he anticipates minimal disruption to proceedings scheduled later this week.
Justice Court services that require public access, including marriage licenses, will remain unavailable until the courthouse is deemed safe to reopen.
County commissioners met in a special meeting Monday morning to get an update on the courthouse's status and coordinate temporary office space for departments displaced by the flooding.
Some court operations will move to the John V. Ostlund Building for the remainder of the week.
The County Attorney's Office and Central Services, which sustained some of the heaviest damage on the second floor, will temporarily relocate across the street to the third floor of City Hall. Morse said those offices could remain there for six to nine months while restoration is completed.
"Hopefully this will speed up the timeline for renovation at the courthouse," said Morse.
County officials said some employees continue working remotely or from unaffected areas of the courthouse while cleanup continues.
Several offices had already moved before the flooding occurred. The county treasurer's office and Motor Vehicle Department permanently relocated to the Ostlund Building in February, while the Elections Office completed its move to MetraPark just days before the incident. The courthouse's third floor was also vacant because of the ongoing renovation project.
Morse said county officials have not yet estimated the total cost of the damage.
“I have no estimate of costs yet," said Morse. "I think we lost four or maybe five laptops. Everything else was covered in plastic, and obviously we haven't got back into the building yet to get to those."
Morse said Marsh McLennan, Yellowstone County's insurance provider, has already filed a claim on the county's behalf.
Environmental testing will determine when the building can fully reopen.
"This is an accident. It's nothing more, and we'll be up and running just as quick as we can," Morse said.
