Koski remembered one year after flood

MONTREAL, Wis. - One year after 12 inches of rain in four hours destroyed Saxon Harbor, the Montreal man who lost his life in the storm is being remembered.

City of Montreal Mayor Todd Haeger on Monday declared Mitch Koski Week.

"I would ask that during this week, think about your friends, neighbors and find a way to help better the community," Haeger said. "That's what Mitch would have done. On July 11, 2016, there was a call for help, and Mitch answered."

Koski, 56, was killed when his truck was swept downstream as a bridge collapsed over raging Oronto Creek during the height of the storm. He was checking on the well-being of campers and his wife, Kathy, at Saxon Harbor when the bridge washed out.

"Mitch did so much for so many people, it's fitting we remember him," Haeger told the Daily Globe.

Koski served as mayor of Montreal, sat on the city council and Iron County Board of Supervisors, was assistant fire chief and volunteered countless hours to the community.

"Mitch gave his life in the service of others and as mayor of Montreal, I declare the second week in July of every year in the city of Montreal to be 'Mitch Koski Week,'" Haeger said.

Koski was one of four people in northern Wisconsin to die because of the 100-year storm.

A year after the storm, a single boat landing is open, but the harbor is expected to be largely inoperable until Iron County's May 2019 target for the reopening of the marina and campground.

Calls about flooding in the northern part of Iron County started coming in to sheriff's department dispatchers around 9:30 p.m. a year ago today. Numerous roads were washed away, including U.S. 2, and some took months to be repaired.

State officials reported a preliminary tally of 85 boats damaged or destroyed at the harbor. A number of downed trees were floating in the lake and the adjacent waters of Lake Superior were clay red from the flood run-off.

Many of the boats lined the shoreline of Lake Superior toward Ashland in tangled heaps and debris was reported as far away as Ontonagon. The Iron County Forestry Department's pontoon barge made it farther, last sighted off the Keweenaw Peninsula - 90 miles northeast of the harbor.

Wisconsin highways 169 and 122 and county trunks B and A were closed for much of the summer.

Luckily, Hurley, to the east, had less than 4 inches of rain in the same storm, or Xcel Energy might have lost its electrical plants along the Montreal River and the cities of Ironwood and Hurley could have flooded.

The storm also devastated the Little Girl's Point area, where huge culverts were washed out and residents were stranded.

A confirmed tornado did damage to property in Bessemer Township south of Bessemer, and in Erwin Township. Many trees and structures were also damaged in Wakefield and Oma, Wis.

Both Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder visited the area, taking aerial tours of the damage and meeting with residents.

States of Emergency were declared in both states, Wisconsin's being issued on July 12 and Michigan's coming three days later.

The declarations paved the way for various forms of assistance with the cleanup effort, including the deployment of National Guard soldiers to help with the recovery on both sides of the border.

Due to the widespread damage in Wisconsin - eight counties were included in the disaster declaration - the storm was also declared a federal disaster Aug. 9, but the federal declaration stopped at the state line.

Two weeks ago, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners reviewed a letter from Michigan's state senators who said they'd support changes in the way the federal government reimburses counties for disasters.

They charged Gogebic County was underfunded by around $2 million because of the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses storm damages.

While northern Wisconsin counties met FEMA guidelines for disaster funds, neighboring Gogebic County did not, despite sustaining the same storm.

The senators said they are working to change the policy to recognize storms don't necessarily adhere to arbitrary boundaries.