L’anse and Baraga crews have started remediation efforts following a flash flood after Wednesday night’s storms. Around the county, roads were damaged, and storm ditches flooded along US-41, and back roads. While the damage was large in many areas around town, says L’Anse village manager Bob LaFave, the drainage systems for the town worked.
And to a certain extent though, the pictures didn’t look great. What happened with the water getting across Meadowbrook field there was the flood control system working the way it was designed to. It’s a burp in the system, so even though the road is now destroyed, it prevented downtown from flooding, which was important, and it helped get the water that was coming down the linden in that area, out into the lake. Unfortunately, we had a few other locations in the community that weren’t quite so lucky. River Street, the amount of water that was coming down there, is wiped out south of white oak apartments and we’re working on efforts there to try to get some restoration. – Bob LaFave, Village Manager, L’Anse
Rainfall and the resulting flooding around the area sounded alarms for public works departments, and water treatment facilities at 3 am. The L’Anse wastewater treatment plant says it experienced high flows and an overload of the sewer system.
With our preventative maintenance plans, we always make sure our equipment’s up and running and ready for this. But at 3.2 inches, you’re at god’s will. So, I mean, we do our best for public safety in trying to minimize impacts, but when our system was so loaded with rainwater and in floodwaters, it’s hard to keep up. – Steve Waara, Operator, L’Anse Wastewater Treatment Plant
Village and township leaders will meet with the Baraga County Emergency Manager, Jeff Hubbard, today to begin analyzing the storm’s impact, and what work will need to start soon. LaFave expects some of the discussion will cover how communities will fund projects. One area that was damaged near East Falls Drive and Secret Creek damaged a temporary solution that was in place for the culvert. LaFave expects the village to award a bid for that project and work to begin soon.
The county was able to get an emergency declaration declared yesterday. So it’s one of the steps in the process and we’re going to continue to work through that process. It’s going to take some time, but we just ask for people to be patient and continue to use good sense and judgment, especially if they’re trying to access the property. If you see any spots that are potential hot spots. Let us know. We’ve certainly done everything we can to try to go out and try to find as much as possible, but some of these things will continue to pop up over the coming weeks. There may be sinkholes or other things that right now are not readily visible but maybe might have been undermined by the amount of water that we received. – Bob LaFave, Village Manager, L’Anse
Road commission crews and emergency management teams were scattered around the region to determine where damage has impacted the community most. Many officials expressed the damage from more than 3 inches of rainfall in less than 12 hours looks similar to damage caused by the Father’s Day flood in 2018 in Houghton County.
Road closures will remain in effect until further notice. LaFave reports the L’Anse DPW crews have completed work to reopen River Street this evening. The village expects Division Street will reopen soon after.
Residents and visitors should watch for updates from local departments online. LaFave says the village will post more information as it becomes available via its Facebook page.
Contact the Baraga County Road Commission or Emergency Manager to report damaged roads, property, or culverts by calling 906-524-7270 0r 906-524-7240
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