2 Scuba Divers Died Last Week In Separate Incidents In Western Wisconsin Lake

Two scuba divers have died in just over a week at a popular lake in Jackson County in western Wisconsin.

At 355 feet deep, Lake Wazee, near Black River Falls, is the deepest inland lake in the state. Formerly an iron ore mine, the lake is said to attract scuba divers from around the world.

One of the divers who died suffered a heart attack, while the other reportedly had equipment problems. Jackson County Sheriff Duane Waldera calls it a tragic coincidence, and said that people who are proficient divers in shallower lakes can easily find themselves in trouble.

“When you get out to Wazee, I think that people might challenge themselves and think they can do more than they’re really capable of doing,” Waldera said.

According to the county’s Forestry and Parks Department, fewer divers have been coming to Lake Wazee during the past decade. Last year, about 1,500 divers bought dive permits.