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Some residents near Bishops Creek between Viroqua and Viola were under order to evacuate their homes Sunday afternoon, and other county residents had been evacuated overnight Saturday or early Sunday morning.
Vernon County Emergency Management Director Cindy Ackerman said that the Primmer/Yttri dam east of Viroqua could potentially fail, which led the county to evacuate 12 to 15 homes in the area.
State highway officials closed Hwys. 14/61 near Readstown on Sunday due to concern that the bridge may not hold under the pressure of water flowing beneath it.
The bridge over the Kickapoo River remained closed to traffic Sunday evening.
According to the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department, the bridge was being used only for emergency traffic.
Linda Nederlo, public information officer for the county’s Emergency Management Department, said county officials were busy assessing road and bridge conditions.
“Numerous county roads are closed or litterally impassible,” Nederlo said.
Hwy. 35 near Stoddard was partially open Sunday evening. The highway had been closed earlier on Sunday when a landslide caused a house to slide onto the highway.
There were also reports of 10 bridges washed out on town and county roads around the county.
Vernon County, like much of the Coulee Region, remained under a flood warning Sunday. Wild West Days’ events Sunday in Viroqua were cancelled.
Although the flooding was heavy, no injuries had been reported as of Sunday afternoon.
Vernon County Parks Administrator Rod Engh said access to Esofea County Park, in northwest Vernon County, had been cut off as a road leading to the park was washed out.
At Sidie Hollow Park in central Vernon County, more than 20 recreational vehicles at the park’s boat landing campground were flooded nearly to their roofs. Shortly before noon Sunday, most of the campers remained half-submerged in water.
“It hit so quick, nobody expected it to hit like this, be so heavy and come so fast,” Tim Jacobson, Vernon County’s Caretaker of Parks, said.
“(Engh) and I were talking about it, and we know we have millions of dollars in damage.”
Lois Knutson of Tomah, Wis., was staying in the campground with her family. She said Vernon County sheriff deputies first came and warned the campers of the impending flood at about 9 p.m. They returned at about midnight to evacuate the park.
“We got out with our lives, limbs and our grandkids. That’s the important thing — you betcha,” Knutson said.
At Sidie Hollow’s campground, recreational vehicles were washed down Sidie Hollow Creek. One destroyed camper remained in the middle of the creek Sunday morning.
“I’ve worked for the county for six years and have never seen anything like this,” Jacobson said.
Portions of Sidie Hollow Road were washed away.
Vernon County’s Emergency Government Department was coordinating relief efforts, Sunday, Ackerman said.
“We’ve got a lot of people scared out there because of the high water, so we’re trying to deal with that,” Ackerman said.
She said that residents near the Seas Branch, Clockmaker, Raaum, Runge Hollow and Duck Egg dams had been evacuated during the night. County Conservationist Kelly Jacobs said the villages of Avalanche and Bloomingdale, where about 180 residents live, were also evacuated Saturday night.
Viroqua city workers said streets and storm sewers had flooded overnight and they engaged an outlet pump southwest of the city to help get the water out of the city Sunday morning.
Jacobs said officials were continuing to asses the stability of Vernon County’s 22 flood control dams. Jacobs said inspectors are having a hard time getting to some of the structures because of bridge and road washouts.
Vernon County has the highest concentration of flood control dams in Wisconsin. Jacobs, whose department is responsible for the maintenance of the structures, said the decision was made the decision to evacuate everyone downstream of the “high hazard” dams in the night.
Matt Johnson and Tim Hundt are reporters at the Vernon County Broadcaster.
