Saxon Harbor storm claims life, causes millions in damage

A violent lightning storm Monday evening caused flooding that washed out Iron County roadways, downed trees and severely damaged Saxon Harbor, where a man was found dead in his vehicle.

Former mayor of the city of Montreal and county board member Mitchell Koski, 56, was pronounced dead at the harbor, according to Iron County Sheriff Tony Furyk.

Koski and his wife, Kathy, were caretakers at the county park.

The vehicle had been swept into swollen Oronto Creek near the harbor campgrounds and the body was recovered early Tuesday afternoon, according to a rescue worker at the scene.

Koski had been missing since Monday evening.

Iron County Forest Administrator Eric Peterson said the newest of two basins at the harbor and campgrounds were destroyed and Oronto Creek was running through the camping area.

The storm hit Saxon at 7:30 p.m. Monday and torrential downpours continued through midnight, dumping up to 9.6 inches of rain, accompanied by constant lightning.

Wisconsin 122, County Trunk A and County Trunk B road surfaces in Saxon were all washed out, blocking access to the harbor.

Iron County Highway Commissioner Mike Swartz said Harbor Drive, a gravel road from Gurney to the harbor, was passable, but traffic was restricted to emergency vehicles only. The road surface was not stable for public use, according to the Iron County Forestry Department.

Aerial photos showed only three boats remained in the newest berth at the harbor after the storm. The second, older basin remained mostly filled with boats, but it wasn't known whether they were damaged.

There are 90 boat slips in two basins at the harbor and the aerial photos showed numerous boats and debris in a line along the Lake Superior shoreline.

Saxon Harbor Boating Club members said 19 boats had washed up along shore or dry land and another 12 had not been found.

"Damage (at the harbor) will be in the millions, if not the ten millions," Peterson said, not including damage to the roads.

Would-be boaters heading for Saxon Harbor from U.S. 2 on Tuesday morning who had no idea of the devastation at the harbor had to turn around and head back toward Hurley when they found there was no public access to the harbor.

US 2 closed

U.S. 2 in the Ashland area was among the roadways that remained closed Tuesday.

The highway in Odanah, on Denomie Creek, near the Bad River Casino, washed out, causing the U.S. 2 closure. Getting to Ashland from the Ironwood area was nearly impossible.

Wisconsin 122 south of Saxon and Wisconsin 169 in Gurney were also closed because of wash-outs, according to the highway department.

In Gurney, both the Vaughn Creek bridge on 169 and the stretch of the highway near the trestle washed out.

The tiny creek that runs through Dan and Gayle Rowe's property, usually flowing at a trickle, flooded, causing the wash-out near the trestle and stranding the couple.

The highway department said the roads would remain closed until further notice.

"It's a mess right now," Swartz said. "Right now, we're trying to open up some of the town roads so we can get people out," he said.

Swartz said in addition to the wash-out on 122 at Parkers Creek, a mile north of U.S. 2, the roadway over the same creek on County A near the harbor washed out. Highway crews couldn't immediately get to the harbor. He said around 30 people were stranded at the harbor on Tuesday morning.

Furyk later said the Hurley Fire Department and other entities assisted in rescuing the people who had been stranded at the harbor.

The highway department was coordinating clean-up efforts with the Department of Transportation that could go on for months. "We're addressing those issues right now," Tana Osterman, of the highway department, said.

Rescue effort

The Hurley Fire Department responded to the wash-out on County B, using its ladder truck to transport deputies and Iron County Emergency Government Director Stacy Ofstad over the wash-out.

They had been stranded north of the large crater in the roadway. They rode the fire truck's ladder over the wash-out.

The Iron County Sheriff's Department posted photos of the rescue effort on County B on its Facebook site.