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“Largely a whole different area has been hit,” Vernon County spokeswoman Linda Nederlo said Monday. “Ontario, Hillsboro, La Farge, Viola — they weren’t the hardest hit in August of 2007, but they’re the hardest hit now.
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A lone canoe, probably from a nearby rental business, rests in a field where flood waters discarded it Monday in Ontario.
PETER THOMSON photo
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“This flood is much more severe, extensive than the flood in 2007,” Nederlo said. “The flood property damage is extensive.”
More than 9 inches of rain fell on Vernon County over the weekend, swamping communities along the Kickapoo River and causing mudslides throughout the county, closing more than 100 roads by early Monday. No injuries had been reported due to the flooding. Shelters for displaced flood victims were set up in Ontario, Viola, La Farge and Viroqua.
“We had aerial photos from both airplanes and helicopters to look at today, and we saw where, in some places, whole roads were washed away,” Nederlo said. “All of our dams are holding. They have suffered damage. There is still the potential for some of them to fail.”
Residents in Crawford County downriver are bracing for the Kickapoo to crest late today and early Wednesday.
The river is predicted to reach 22 feet in Soldiers Grove at 7 a.m. today, just above the record of 21.6 feet. And in Gays Mills, the river is predicted to crest at 20.8 feet at 1 a.m. Wednesday, 1 foot above the record flood stage, according to the National Weather Service in La Crosse.
First hit by flooding was Ontario, near the Monroe-Vernon County line. It’s a popular launch point for canoeists on the Kickapoo, which crested at 21.7 feet about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in La Crosse.
But by Monday afternoon, the Kickapoo was back below its 18-foot flood stage, leaving stray rental canoes high and dry as residents cleaned up a muddy mess.
“The water’s receding quite well,” said Ontario Fire Chief Kevin Knoll. “Downriver, they’re not going to like that too much.”
In La Farge on Sunday night, Dale Clements saw the rising waters from his house on Pearl Street and said he thought he was going to die.
“I started writing a note on the wall to my kids,” Clements said. “I thought that was it, I wasn’t going to make it.”
But Clements signaled with a small flashlight to La Farge firefighters passing nearby in a motorboat. They rescued Clements and his dog, Makita.
Clements was thankful his 12-year-old daughter was not at his home when the flood hit.
“I was never so happy to see some people,” Clements said of his rescue. As of Monday, his home still was under water and he didn’t know what he was going to do for shelter.
The flooding Kickapoo River overcame virtually all of the buildings on the south side of La Farge. The river crossed Main Street and reached the La Farge Truck Center.
Todd Deaver, who was coordinating relief efforts in La Farge with Phil Stittleburg, said the Kickapoo River beat its old crest record in La Farge by about 18 inches.
As the river traveled south Sunday night, it crested at a new record of 21.17 feet in Viola, according to the weather service.
Pete Strachan, of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said the river rose so high it was above the bridge and even with the bridge railings.
The grounds of the Viola Horse and Colt Show and Banker Park were flooded Monday, with only the roofs of shelters visible.
Law enforcement officers used motor boats to travel up and down Viola’s Main Street.
The bridge over the Kickapoo River in Readstown was flooded, and traffic on Hwy. 14 had to be rerouted.
Nederlo said perhaps 50 Vernon County residences were without power late Monday afternoon.
Evacuation orders were lifted Monday afternoon for residents living below the Melby, Ostrem, Raaum, Thompson and Eagles Park dams. However, they remain in place for residents living below the Runge Hollow and Duck Egg dams in the town of Jefferson; Yttri-Primmer, Seas Branch, and Hidden Valley in the town of Viroqua; Jacobson in the town of Webster; Sidie Hollow in the town of Sterling; and Jersey Valley in the town of Christiana.
Ontario residents Monday were squeegeeing and scraping slick mud from businesses and roads after the Kickapoo River waters receded earlier in the day.
The river backed into part of downtown Ontario and submerging the village’s baseball field.
One of the hardest-hit businesses was Kickapoo Paddle Inn restaurant, which took on 2½ feet of water, said owner Tony Kelbel. “It tipped all my freezers over and I lost all my food,” he said as friends and neighbors helped clean up.
“This is the most amazing thing here, the people,” Kelbel said of the dozen or so helpers. “Small towns. It’s priceless.”
Kelbel, who also owns Drifty’s Complete Canoe Rental, said he hopes to reopen in two weeks.
“We knew it was going to be really bad,” said Kelbel’s friend, Samantha Wagner. “He got the worst of it all. All of his land was under, everything. We’re just a small community, willing to do whatever.”
Ontario Fire Chief Kevin Knoll said county and town crews were working on reopening roads, and urged people not to come down because the roads aren’t in great condition.
National Guard soldiers from Fort McCoy helped Ontario firefighters about 10:30 p.m. Sunday to check on residents who refused to leave a mobile home park southwest of the village.
Park residents were advised to leave Sunday afternoon for a shelter in town, Knoll said. Much of the park is on higher ground, but the access road over Brush Creek is prone to flooding, which cuts off access.
“A few didn’t want to leave. When the water got too high for us to go over and check, we got the National Guard to come down with their vehicles. They went over and checked. One more party left, and the others stayed in place,” Knoll said.
Nan’s Suds N’ Such, a car wash and coin-operated laundry, got 8 to 12 inches of water inside, despite the sandbags piled outside.
Owner Nancy Brieske and son Dennis said the last time they had a flood this bad was 1978, when the water was 4 feet high in the business.
Matt Johnson is managing editor and Tim Hundt a reporter for the Vernon County Broadcaster in Viroqua. Reid Magney can be reached at rmagney@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8211.
