Multiple agencies were responding Wednesday to flooding concerns along the Wolf River in Keshena, after the banks formed an ice jam, due to recent rising temperatures.
An ice jam is formed when water levels rise due to formations of ice that meets ground level. It could result in local and regional flooding causing damage to buildings.
Emergency management officials with both Menominee County and the Menominee Tribal Office, and local businesses have placed 1,000 sandbags, with 2,000 more on reserve, along the Wolf River on state Highway 47.
Emergency management coordinator Ben Warrington of the Menominee Tribal Office said there were indications of potential flooding since the end of November.
“We have started seeing the rising floodwaters along the Wolf River area from Keshena Falls all the way down to Keshena since the week of Thanksgiving,” Warrington said.
Emergency Management officials from both agencies began responding to reports from businesses and property owners at the beginning of this month.
“It really started affecting the downtown area after the Thanksgiving holiday, right around Dec. 1, then it started affecting the properties in downtown Keshena,” Warrington said.
Additionally, the Town of Menominee Fire Department and Menominee Tribal Police have assisted emergency management officials, Warrington said.
Businesses began adding sandbags last weekend, and residents have reported flooded basements, he said.
“Right now, we are not seeing any damages, nothing to the building structures, we still got at least another six to eight inches for the water to rise and get into the businesses,” Warrington said.
Property owners have responded with increased use of sump pumps, and doing proactive work to prevent potential fires.
“We do have some property owners to the north that have water in their basements and their sump pumps are running, and we have one property owner with three sump pumps running,” Warrington said.
With temperatures expected to rise into the mid-40s by the weekend, emergency management officials are remaining proactive, with the Tribal office expected to receive an additional 8,000 sandbags within the next 48 hours.
“There are a number of people affected. We got people in their homes raising their furnaces off the ground in their basements so they can still stay in their homes,” Warrington said.
Warrington credited officials and agencies in the city of Shawano, the general public, and Menominee County agencies for offering assistance.
“We are going to still keep monitoring, and we have gotten a huge outpouring of support from the public from different agencies, including the county and the tribe,” Warrington said. “We have had the mayor of Shawano, Lorna Marquardt, offering assistance, and the Shawano Fire Department has offered assistance.”
“Our ultimate goal is to keep these people in their homes,” Warrington said.
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