$5.84M in damages estimated already
The railroad tracks along Highway 35 washed out from heavy rain Monday night, Sept. 3. The washout caused a minor train derailment. (Photo by Todd Myers)
This is some of the damage to the park in Soldiers Grove caused by the recent record flood of the Kickapoo River. (Photo by Dennis Pelock)
This is part of Highway 171 on Orchard Hill that got damaged due to heavy rain Monday night. (Photo by Todd Myers)
By Ted Pennekamp
The rain just keeps coming and causing major problems for Crawford County and the surrounding area. Directly on the heels of a record-setting Kickapoo River flood that affected numerous homes and businesses in Soldiers Grove, Gays Mills and Steuben, heavy rain Monday night caused parts of Highway 35 and other roads to fill with mud, branches and other debris. Some county roads were damaged as well.
“We got a hell of a pile of rain yesterday,” said Highway Commissioner Dennis Pelock Tuesday morning. “There will be road closures for awhile.”
Pelock noted that crews have been hard at work since Monday removing mud and debris and assessing damage. Highway 35, a few miles north of Prairie du Chien, was down to one lane in two different spots Tuesday morning. The entrance to a private road near County N washed out and caved in, leaving a gaping hole. Also, Pelock said Highway 171 was closed, as well as Orchard Hill Road, and County Roads B, C, D and H. Water was flowing over the road in Gays Mills once again. A small section of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad track along Highway 35 was undercut and washed out, which caused a train derailment. Sections of the train were sitting on or just off the track Tuesday morning.
Pelock said the Kickapoo River flood of Aug. 28-30, caused only an estimated $4,000 to $5,000 of damage to roads in the county, but Monday’s rain has now changed all that. He said it is too early to give a cost estimate, but damages to roads in the county are being assessed.
Crawford County Emergency Management Director Jim Hackett reported, at the end of the working day Sept. 4, that assessment numbers had hit $2,842,500 in public sector damage and over $3,000,000 in private sector damage. Hackett said damage assessments are still being conducted. To report private property damage, contact 211. This will be used to report straight to the county and FEMA.
FEMA will take all estimates, and then the president will declare a disaster to release those FEMA funds. So it’s important that all residents, business owners, as well as farmers and landowners with crop damage make reports. All these details will help in drawing the clearest picture of the type and value of assistance the county will receive.
“We need to reach certain thresholds as a region,” Hackett said.
Pelock addressed the record-setting heights the Kickapoo River is believed to have reached. Its crest, originally listed on the National Weather Service website as 20.75 feet at Soldiers Grove the morning of Aug. 29, will most likely need to be readjusted and be quite higher because the gauge was under water at the time and nobody could get to it.
Pelock made a mark on the bridge in Soldiers Grove when the water was at its highest. The true river level should be able to be ascertained from that mark, he said.
The National Weather Service said the river crested at 20.75 feet in Soldiers Grove, which is below the record of 21.63 set on July 22, 1951. For Gays Mills, the crest is shown as 22.15 the morning of Aug. 29, which surpassed the old record of 20.44 set on June 9, 2008. At Steuben, the crest is shown as 19.84, eclipsing the previous mark of 19.16 on June 10, 2008.
Up to 10 inches of rain hit the Coon Valley area near the northwest corner of Vernon County on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28, and large amounts of rain fell throughout Vernon County and the surrounding area. This caused the record-setting flood of the Kickapoo River in Vernon and Crawford counties.
Soldiers Grove, Gays Mills and Steuben were inundated as never before. Large chunks of blacktop from the park in Soldiers Grove broke loose and floated over to the road where they were deposited. Numerous houses had water inside, including some that were raised in Soldiers Grove and Gays Mills after the flood of 2008. Water at Steuben filled the park and went over the sandbag wall at both Jo’s Kountry Bar and Lou’s Bar. Highway 60 near Wauzeka was closed Thursday, Aug. 30, because water was going over the road.
“The river hasn’t flowed over Highway 60 since 2008,” said Pelock.
The river was receding and people were beginning to clean up their properties just before and during Labor Day weekend. The river had gone below 10 feet at Soldiers Grove by Sept. 2. Flood stage at Soldiers Grove is 13 feet.
With the Sept. 3-4 rain, however, the river is now flooding once again. It was at 14.75 feet in Soldiers Grove at 8 a.m. on Sept. 5 and is predicted to crest at 17.5 at 8 a.m. on Sept. 6. It was at 16.67 feet in Gays Mills at 8 a.m. on Sept. 5 and is expected to crest at 18.5 on Sept. 6, according to the National Weather Service. In was at 13.77 feet in Steuben at 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 5 and is predicted to rise to 17.5 feet by Sept. 6. Flood stage in Steuben is 12 feet.
The National Weather Service reports that 3 to 6 inches of rain fell throughout the region Monday night. Gays Mills received 5.25 inches, Steuben 3.8 and Prairie du Chien 3 inches.
