Heavy rain, strong wind cause damage in Bayfield County and Ashland

Pouring rain flooded onto Bayfield County Tuesday night and continued to fall into the early hours of Wednesday morning, causing flooding and road damage.

A slow-moving cold front brought more than four inches of rain about three miles south of Cornucopia, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Woody Unruh. That was the highest total, but few places were spared. Areas closer to Bayfield received about 3.15 inches of rain. On the western side of the county near Port Wing, the average was around 2.75-3 inches of rain.

Multiple sections of Highway 13 were damaged by flooding and high water, causing road closures near Cornucopia and Port Wing and a section near Bayfield.

By Thursday the water receded at the Flag River, Bark River, and Pikes Creek enough to reopen the road that was closed. But a closure a half mile east of the Meyers Beach access road will be closed for up to a week. Meyers Beach can only be accessed from the west at this time, said Meagan Quaderer, Emergency Management director, in a release.

“Conditions are changing and travelers should use extra caution until repairs can be made. Drivers should avoid travel on roads with significant washouts or high standing water if they are encountered due to potential instability,” she said.

Elsewhere, high water flooded the entrance to the Bayfield Fish Hatchery and strong winds blew a structure in downtown Ashland off its foundation. Owned by the Deepwater Grill, it wound up on the sidewalk across the street from the Chequamegon Co-Op.

Because of flooding on Highway 13, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is temporarily lifting the 20-ton weight restriction on the local detour in the city of Washburn.

Until repairs can be made at several culvert locations, all traffic can now use the other detour in Washburn, which follows West Bigelow Street, West Holman Lakeview Drive, Omaha Street East and 1st Avenue West.

The Bayfield County Highway Department didn’t have an estimate on the approximate cost of damages resulting from the storm, but did say several culverts were washed away and considerable damage was done to sections of the shoulder of the highway.