Friends unite to protect homes from rising water
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Chuck Rupnow | Leader-Telegram
Even strangers show up at Lake Altoona to help fill bags with sand to ward off rising water levels
L-T staff photo by Dan Reiland
ALTOONA - Some residents along Lake Altoona are getting used to filling sandbags to protect their property.
Jim Trzecinski, who lives along the lake, was tying filled bags Friday afternoon for one reason.
"You do it for friends; that's it," he said while working with others at a boat launch site near the lake's beach. "This is, unfortunately, happening too frequently. It seems the 100-year flood is coming every five to 10 years."
The sandbagging work was necessary after torrential rains that started Wednesday afternoon and continued into the early hours of Thursday caused extensive flooding, road damage and rising river, creek and lake levels throughout the Chippewa Valley and much of western Wisconsin.
Dawn Wayne, one of the grateful recipients of the sandbagging work that started early Friday, also was part of the sandbag-filling effort.
"Just about our whole first floor was going to be underwater, which it did back in 1993," she said. "We heard this was going to be equally bad, so we got proactive and had some great friends who joined in."
The Waynes emptied their first floor in preparation of flooding, but as of midafternoon Friday the sandbags were holding.
"Without the bags, the water would be halfway up our first floor," Wayne said, adding that people also had emptied sections of neighboring residences in precautionary efforts.
"I know most of the people here," Wayne said about those filling, tying, carrying and placing the sandbags, "but there are also others here who have just shown up to help, who I don't know. It's so great to have friends. We're lucky; so blessed."
Kent Adams, a friend of the Waynes, was shoveling sand into bags.
"I'm here, and others are here because they are our friends and they needed help," he said. "Last night we talked about it, and this morning we touched base again and thought it would be worse than anticipated."
Altoona Administrator Mike Golat said Eau Claire County provided sand for the bags and assisted in other ways.
"The city of Altoona has a pretty limited role in this, as the jurisdiction involves Eau Claire County emergency services," Golat said before shoveling sand into bags. "Our public works and others are involved because these are our residents, and we have a vested interest in making sure they remain safe."
Golat admits he wasn't surprised at the outpouring of support from residents.
"When I showed up this morning there was already a team of neighbors helping each other getting their boats and docks out, and then there was the sandbagging too," he said. "Everyone's just pulling together."
Dam gates were wide open Friday on the lake. The water was 2 feet above normal levels as of 10 a.m. Friday, with cresting expected late in the day, according to Eau Claire County Emergency Management officials.
Contact: 715-830-5831, chuck.rupnow@ecpc.com, @crupnow on Twitter Read more about this article »
|
