Crews Eye The Weather As Flood Recovery Continues

As communities in northern Wisconsin forge ahead with recovery efforts following last week’s intense flooding, heat indexes are forecasted to climb up to 110 degrees this week, prompting officials to watch the potential for flash flooding in the western part of the state.

“Fortunately, it’s not forecasted to move into the counties that have been hit,” said Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management. “But, we’re obviously going to be keeping an eye on the potential for flash flooding in those counties along the Mississippi River overnight into tomorrow.”

Ashland County Highway Supervisor Emmer Shields said he doesn’t expect the weather to affect their work repairing roads. Crews are working on getting County Road C ready to serve as a detour for Wisconsin Highway 13, sections of which have been closed due to washouts.

They hope to have the detour ready by early next week, Shields said. U.S. Highway 2 is open to light truck and car traffic with a detour around affected areas of the highway near Odanah.

“It sounds like U.S. 2 might open in the next 48 hours,” Shields said.

The damage estimates continue to rise in Ashland County. Local officials are reporting at least $11 million in damage while the state, county and towns continue to make assessments.

County officials are urging homeowners with wells to test their water.

“Until the results of the well water test are known, drink bottled water or water from a known safe source,” said Ashland County Emergency Management in a press release. “If necessary, you can make water safe to drink by boiling water for five minutes.”

At least 316 homes and businesses have been damaged by flooding, most of which are in Ashland and Sawyer counties. Pat Sanchez with Sawyer County Emergency Management said they’re working with homeowners now that flood waters have gone down.

“It’s pretty much to see what the damage is, what kind of damage, how high did the flood waters get,” she said. “What we’re seeing is most of the damage is actually due to groundwater and sump pumps not being able to keep up with the influx of the groundwater.”

An estimated 112 homes in Sawyer County have been affected by the flooding, but it’s too early to tell the extent of the damage, Sanchez said.

“I just know that there are sump pumps going all of the town of Hayward and the city of Hayward,” she said.

The county is working with a state contractor for estimates of the damage and is expecting a visit from federal emergency managers next week. The Department of Administration is making $3 million available in community development block grants to help low-income homeowners and offer assistance to businesses affected by flooding.

Other state agencies are also working to assist those who have been displaced or have experienced crop damage from the flooding. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is speeding up the permitting process on requests for repair, including cleanup efforts at Saxon Harbor.

The American Red Cross has been helping meet the needs of flood victims after setting up a multi-agency resource center at the Bad River Community Center. Around a dozen people came in during the first hour they were open Tuesday, spokeswoman Barbara Behling said. The Red Cross is connecting people to housing, transportation and cleanup kits.

“If you’ve had flood damage in your home, we encourage people to come here and meet with our caseworkers and find out what kind of assistance might be available to you whether that be some rental assistance, security deposits, making sure your health needs are met,” she said.

The Red Cross can replace medications lost in the flooding, Behling said. People can also apply for FoodShare replacement benefits with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, if they’ve lost food due to the flooding.

Road updates from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation:

Ashland County

• WIS 13 corridor is closed between Mellen and WIS 112. Use WIS 77, U.S. 63, U.S. 53 and U.S. 2 as alternative route.

Bayfield County

• U.S. 63 is closed at Twentymile Creek near Grand View. Traffic is detoured via County Highway N and County Highway A. Work to repair damages on U.S. 63 began Monday, July 18. The project will include debris removal, culvert repair and pavement work. WisDOT anticipates this project will be complete and U.S. 63 will be open to traffic mid-August.

Iron County

• WIS 122 closed north of U.S. 2 to Michigan State line. Work expected to begin next week. No official detour posted.
• WIS 169 is closed between WIS 13 and U.S. 2. No official detour posted.
• Work to replace the culvert at the South Tributary to Vaughn Creek, located half a mile north of Gurney (between Cameron Road and Jensen Road) began Tuesday. Crews plan to open to local traffic only by the end of the day July 20. Project completion scheduled for Aug. 31.