Thursday evening storm prompts warning sirens, results in closures of some County roads and campground areas in Yellow River State Forest

Although the storm that swept through northeast Iowa Thursday, September 12 was forecasted to possibly produce strong winds and hail, it was heavy rain - reported to have dumped as much as six inches in some areas of southeast Allamakee County that evening - that caused the most concern and left behind the most visible scars. The severity of the rain has ultimately resulted in several closed rural gravel roads, along with camping sites in the Yellow River State Forest.

BUSY EVENING FOR FIRE DEPARTMENTS
All Allamakee County fire departments were called upon for storm spotting shortly after 4 p.m., but for those in the southeast portion of the county their call to duty didn’t end there. The evening’s heavy rains quickly raised creeks and filled otherwise dry-run areas with rolling water along Great River Road, in Yellow River State Forest and in other areas in southeast Allamakee County, northeast Clayton County and over into southwest Wisconsin.

Those heavy rains and flash floods forced volunteers from the Harpers Ferry, Lansing and Waterville Fire Departments to extend their evenings beyond storm spotting to situational surveying, traffic control for closed roadways and, in some cases in area campgrounds, advisors to move to higher ground. Those volunteer departments spent five to six hours Thursday evening serving their communities in various aspects related to the storm.

Lansing Fire Chief Tony Becker reported that his department members spent time advising campers at Red Barn Resort to seek higher ground and aiding some in doing so with nearby Clear Creek being impacted by the heavy falling rain. Department members also helped close off the Great River Road south of Lansing due to water breaching the roadway in some locations, and some did likewise in the Village Creek area for flooded roadways and debris on the road. Others canvassed hillsides and bluffs along roadways for any indication of landslides, and all areas continued to be monitored until the flooding waters began to recede.

Waterville Fire Department members were involved in initial camper assistance in the Yellow River State Forest, helping the Harpers Ferry Fire Department get campers to safety as waters rose and flooded State Forest locations. Chief Loren Mitchell said some Waterville volunteers also checked on campers at Scenic View Campground on Old Sixteen Road along Yellow River, along with surveying gravel roads in the area and finding some of those under water on their way back toward Waterville after having traveled them freely when first venturing out to assist.

Although Harpers Ferry Fire Chief Dave Cota could not be reached for specifics, the Yellow River State Forest area became that department’s greatest area of focus, especially assisting campers in moving to higher ground and monitoring roadways as they became covered with water. Some members also responded to Wexford Valley Campground north of Harpers Ferry to ensure camper safety there as well.

SIRENS SOUNDED
The same storm that produced what the National Weather Service officially designated an EF0 tornado near the Ossian area in southeast Winneshiek County also prompted storm warning sirens to sound in several Allamakee County communities. With the National Weather Service reporting cloud rotation and several storm spotters confirming a broader rotation within the clouds, sirens were sounded in Waukon (see Page 4A) around 5 p.m. and in Lansing around 5:30 p.m. after the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for cloud rotation between Harpers Ferry and Lansing. No actual tornado touchdowns were reported from any of those locations.

YELLOW RIVER STATE FOREST
The storms and their resulting aftermath prompted Yellow River State Forest officials to release the following information the day after the storm:

Flash flooding has forced closures at Yellow River State Forest campgrounds and trails. The flash flood hit during the evening hours on Thursday, September 12 and covered many roads. All of the campgrounds are currently closed.

The Creekside equestrian campground will remain closed for the season, Little Paint campground will open as work is completed, Big Paint campground will open September 19, and Frontier equestrian campground will open October 7. The multipurpose equestrian trails are closed until further notice.

The backpack campsites are open and users are advised to use caution while hiking because the trails may be slippery. DNR staff remind parks users to obey the posted closures and signs and avoid flooded areas throughout the park.

For the latest updates and a list of closures, visit https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/Alerts-and-Closures.

SOME COUNTY ROADS CLOSED AS WELL
Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour reported road closures early Friday morning after his road crews were out most of the previous night and continued on through that Friday to make repairs and clean up impacted roadways. Ridenour initially reported that French Creek Drive over French Creek, Donahue Road near its midway point and the south end of Imperial Avenue will “likely be closed through next week, due to us prioritizing repairs to higher traffic roads.”

Ridenour later added Columbus Road near its midway point and Houlihan Drive where it crosses Little Paint Creek to that list of closed roads at least through the early part of this current week. He also said other county roadways are down to one lane of traffic, and some experienced washouts or debris, but remained passable, urging motorists to drive with caution and awareness. County road crews were also working on cleaning up some landslide areas along Riverview Road and Lansing Harpers Road just north of Lafayette Ridge Road.