Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Damage assessments were under way Monday after as much as a foot of rain fell over the weekend in parts of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.
For the weekend, Ironwood streets flooded both Friday and Sunday as the storms caused untold damage.
According to the National Weather Service, Ironwood received nearly 8 inches of rain over the weekend. The The heaviest total was 3.64 inches for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Saturday at the wastewater treatment plant off Cloverland Drive, but there was more than an inch every day from Thursday through Monday morning.
The Ironwood Public Safety Department and city public works crew were kept busy over the weekend.
The Montreal River over Norrie Park Road flooded Saturday afternoon. IPSD officer Adam Clemens was checking out that damage when he spotted a tree over telephone lines east of the park.
Washouts included a sinkhole developing near the walking trail on North Curry Road on Friday, when U.S. 2 was under about a foot of water following a deluge.
The IPSD investigated deep ditch wash-outs on the Old County Road, near South Davis Road. The south shoulder washed out, but the water had subsided by Monday afternoon.
A power line was discovered down near Pioneer Park Apartments, where there was a power outage.
Much of the city, including stores along the highway, were without electricity on Sunday evening.
There were homeowner reports of flooded basements in the city throughout the weekend.
On Friday morning, U.S. 2 had to be closed between Lowell Street and Douglas Boulevard because of flash flooding.
Heavy winds downed trees, as many toppled because root structures were saturated.
At noon on Monday, about a dozen MJ Electric, Iron Mountain and Xcel Energy repair trucks were parked in the lot at the Ironwood Area Schools bus garage. A worker said the crews had been dispatched from the Minnesota area and had trouble getting to Ironwood because of earlier detours on Wisconsin 169 and Wisconsin 77.
Rainfall totals for 24-hour periods to 7 a.m. in Ironwood included: Friday, 1.57 inches; Saturday, 3.64 inches; Sunday, 1.17 inches; Monday, 1.44 inches.
The forecast calls for sunshine most of the rest of the week.
There were scattered power outages from Friday through Sunday throughout the Gogebic Range and Xcel Energy said 5,400 customers were affected in northern Wisconsin.
Gogebic County Road Commission Director-Engineer Darren Pionk said while his crew made road repairs throughout the weekend, Sunday’s storm “destroyed all those repairs.”
The road commission website listed 17 road closures or areas to be repaired as of Monday.
