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MPR News Staff
St. Paul

NW Wisconsin dam failure near MN border triggers flooding

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Updated: 7:40 p.m. | Posted: 4:04 p.m.

Rains caused an earthen dam to fail Monday in a rural area of northwestern Wisconsin.

The Radigan Flowage Dam west of Dairlyland sits in an area where few people live, said Douglas County Emergency Management Director Keith Kesler. He said he was unaware of any evacuations.

The National Weather Service office in Duluth said bridges were flooded after the failure on the Tamarack River, which flows into the St. Croix River on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

A flash flood warning has been issued for Markville, Minn., which is downstream from the Radigan Flowage Dam.

The weather service warns that all bridges have been flooded downstream in southwestern Douglas County and warned people to avoid the area and never drive through a flooded road.

Highway 77/48 west of Danbury, Wis., has been closed at the St. Croix River bridge.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation tweeted that Highway 23 south of Jay Cooke State Park and Highway 48 at the St. Croix River in Pine County were also closed due to washouts.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker on Monday declared a state of emergency in five northwestern counties: Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Iron. Walker planned to tour flood damage Monday night.

According to a National Weather Service gauge, the St. Croix River near Danbury was approaching nearly record levels Sunday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Correction (June 19, 2018): An earlier version of this story misspelled Radigan.