Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com
Published - Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Many areas remain flooded in Vernon County, Tuesday, and more than 100 roads still closed
While flood waters were receding in Vernon County, Tuesday, closed roads and evacuations were still prevalent.
The Vernon County Sheriff’s Department said Hwy. 56 east of Viroqua at Liberty is closed indefinitely, Tuesday, as of 1 p.m.
The road bed became unstable after flood waters around the highway receded.
Good news came just after 2 p.m. as Hwy. 14 at Readstown over the Kickapoo River reopened.
Linda Nederlo, the public information officer for the Vernon County Emergency Operations Center, said more than 100 roads remained closed in Vernon County, Tuesday, due to flooding caused by nine inches of rain, which fell Saturday and Sunday. Those wishing to check on the status of closed roads can log onto www.vernoncounty.org
Numerous residents remained evacuated from homes in La Farge and Viola. Residents evacuated from trailer parks in De Soto and Ontario were allowed to return, Tuesday.
Evacuation shelters were still being operated in Ontario, La Farge, Viola and Viroqua.
County officials sent out teams to assess damage to private property, Tuesday. Property owners with damage were asked to call 608-637-6383 or 608-637-6381 to have an assessment team sent to their property.
Nederlo said it was too early to estimate how much public or private damage has been caused by the floods.
Residents living below the Duck Egg, Runge Hollow, Hidden Valley, Seas Branch and Jersey Valley dams were still under orders to evacuate their homes on Tuesday afternoon.
Nederlo said county officials were hopeful that Gov. Jim Doyle’s request for federal emergency disaster aid would be approved.
“I can’t see how they wouldn’t if they were looking at what we’ve got going on here,” Nederlo said. “There’s been no talk of (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) coming, but we know Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) is working on it.”
Meanwhile, Nederlo said officials at the Vernon County EOC were closely watching a pair of weather systems headed toward western Wisconsin that could bring Thunderstorms and rain.
All stories copyright 2006 Westby Times and other attributed sources.