Lake Delton Disaster #1 (From Shannon)

LakeDelton01, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Tommy Bartlett Ski, Sky & Stage Show - Lake Delton, WI (Wisconsin Dells) Lake Delton 'is gone'; other areas evacuated as dams near failure State Journal staff, Beaver Dam Daily Citizen June 7, 2008 Lake Delton, a 254-acre water playland for thousands of tourists each summer, has been drained after a portion of the lakeshore was breached. At least four houses fell into empty basin, and work crews were frantically trying to plug the breach with tons of stone and concrete. Meanwhile, a couple thousand of people in Columbia County about 30 miles north of Madison were urged to evacuate below the Wyocena and Pardeeville dams, said Pat Beghin, a spokesman for the county's emergency management. The Wyocena Dam's spillway had washed out, and workers were sandbagging to try to save it, Beghin said. The Pardeeville dam was overflowing, creating a risk for the nearly 10,000 people downstream in Portage, he said. The Upper Spring Dam in Palmyra also was failing, state emergency management officials said, but only one house in the rural area was in danger, Palmyra town chairman Stewart Calkins said. "The lake is gone," Greg Matthews, a spokseman for the DNR's South Central region, said of Lake Delton. The dam itself held, but nearby Highway A did not, creating a new outlet to the Wisconsin River. A swirling chocolate malt of angy liquid escaped through the 400- to 500-foot gap, spreading into the marsh and carrying houses, trees, and an upside down pontoon boat with it. "It's a catastrophe," said Tom Diehl, president, general manager and co-owner of Tommy Bartlett, Inc., which operates a daily water ski, stage and sky show on the lake. "It's going to have a huge impact." If you take Hwy A north from Baraboo you pass the cemetery and the the Crane Foundation it is a nice “back route” to the Dells I used often. On the 2nd image the road there is Hwy A looking south towards Baraboo. The video clip at the end shows whats left of Hwy A. Talking to Randy Peterson on the cell tonight….he lives in nearby Reedsburg and at the current time is unable to get to his house because all the bridges in the area are flooded out. He was busy all day helping sand bag T J Howell’s house on the mighty Baraboo river. Shannon