(The following story by Reid Magney appeared on the La Crosse Tribune website on August 20.)
LA CROSSE, Wisc. — A torrent of water coming off bluffs in northwest Vernon County derailed a train and washed away homes early Sunday, officials said.
Hwy. 35 south of La Crosse was closed to all traffic but emergency workers and residents Sunday, and it likely will remain closed for some time while crews repair the road and clean up major landslides.
Several homes were damaged, and one at N2896 Hwy. 35 just north of Stoddard slid down the hillside and onto the highway about 2 a.m., said Vernon County Chief Deputy Jim Hanson.
One woman in the house at the time was rescued from the house, but she wasn’t injured, Hanson said.
The stretch of Hwy. 35 south of Goose Island County Park was strewn with mud, logs and debris washed down the hillsides.
“It’s just terrible to see it,”
La Crosse County Sheriff Steve Helgeson said as he surveyed the damage.
Five cars of a 65-car northbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed early Sunday, forcing the evacuation of several homes just south of Hwy. GI in La Crosse County.
One car containing acid tipped over, but hazardous materials teams did not detect any release of the substance, officials said.
It was unclear how long it will take to clean up the derailment. Sunday morning and afternoon, a parade of dump trucks carrying gravel made its way down Hwy. 35 to the derailment site. They were filling in ditches and building a road alongside the train tracks so heavy equipment could get back to the derailment about half one mile south of Hwy. GI.
Several container cars appeared to have tipped over on the west side of the tracks and were lying on their sides.
Helgeson said rushing waters were 3 inches deep across parts of Hwy. 35 during the peak of the storm. One man tried driving through the water, only to be stuck upon a log in the middle of the highway, he said.
Hwy. 35 reopened as far south as Hwy. K for local residents only, officials said. Hwy. K was reduced to one lane.
Hanson said its best for people to stay away from the area so crews can complete the cleanup work.