Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1916-04-25
VERY HIGH WATER
Wisconsin River on Full Sized RAM
page-Nearly a Foot Above
Flood Stage Reached.

On account of the very deep snow in
the woods, which had become in many
places, nothing less than solid ice, and
the heavy rains during the winter,
everyone predicted high water for the
Wisconsin river, but all hoped that
this vast amount of snow and ice would
disappear gradually, without rain.
This seemed to be the intention of the
weather man, and he did very well up
to last Wednesday night. While the
water had been very high previous to
that time, showing an immense amount
of snow further north; the height had
reached over feet above low water
mark, when it commenced to fall.
Wednesday the wind came from the
southeast all day and at night, dark
clouds came up and there was a heavy
wind and thunder and lightning, and
rain came down in torrents. Taken
all together, this was the widest
storm had in Wausau for many a day.
1t covered a very large area and dam
aging accounts came from all over
the Mississippi and Missouri valleys
and the western lake region. In Mil
waukee there was wind, rain and hail
in the storm, and the hail alone did
$4,000 worth of damage, mostly to
green houses. At Amigo there was
hail and heavy wind with the rain,
lightning struck in three places, doing
damage at the fair grounds and setting
fire and destroying the English Manu-
featuring Co.'s warehouse, and the mill
district was threatened by fire.
In Wausau the river commenced to
raise and the fact of having had a
heavy rain, the mill men, Wisconsin
Valley Electric company, both railroads
and other interests began to get busy
to prepare for a flood. On Thursday
afternoon, the c. NJ. & ST. Paul R. r.
company found its tracks north of
Single street were going to be flooded,
and timbers were brought to the open
ingS of the company through which
the trains pass, under the high bridge,
with which to close the same. During
the day Thursday, it rained a part of
the time, but in the evening at s
o'clock it came down in a steady pour
and one inch of rain fell before morn
ing. The river raised IA inches by
7 O'Clock a. m. Friday, reaching feet
and 8 inches above the low water
mark; this meant only 8 inches more
to reach the flood stage and as the
gates to several of the dams up north
were opened, it looked bad for a very
high stage of water and sure enough,
the river went up to 10 feet s inches
above low water mark by Saturday
morning. If it had not been for the |
adequate preparations made the day
before, Single street would have met |
with a bad washout, perhaps to the |
nxrfn Of Nf A
swift current cut over from the guard |
lock, the water crept up to the rail |
road bridge crossing on to the Stewart |
island and a car load of logs was run |
onto it to weigh it down. AS the |
water kept on raising, flood trash &C |
cumulated at the bridge and the water |
commenced to flow over the island |
north of the bridge, and it seems now |
as if that part of the island would |
be washed out entirely. No telling |
what the extent of the damage will be |
to the south end of this island. The |
water seemed to have reached it's |
height in the afternoon of Saturday. |
The G. & n. w. Ry. tracks, running on |
to the island have been washed out. |
The water came to stand still Sat |
urday night and commenced to fall |
Sunday and by night had fallen six or |
eight inches, and by Monday morning |
had fallen a foot and half.
1t looks now as if all danger from |
the spring flood of 1916 is past.
Both railroads are cut off from sup
plying certain of their customers but |
manage to get along by using each |
others lines. The st. Paul cars can |
not get below the guard lock over its |
own lines, and the c. & N. w. r. r. |
cannot get above the guard lock across |
the Stewart island.
The high water is not nearly so dan
gerous to cities along the Wisconsin |
river as in years gone by because |
there are no logs to pound the dams to |
pieces; no flood trash to plug up the |
gates, and at this time all the ice is |
out of the river, so the water passes
away unrestricted.
All of the streams tributary to the |
Wisconsin river are way up to flood |
stage. and wherever there is a stream |
along the N. w. or st. Paul roads, it is |
out of its banks, and making all kinds |
of trouble.
NnfaS