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Western Wisconsin County Sees 8 Inches Of Rain In 45 Minutes

GILMANTON, Wis. (WCCO) -- Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin are dealing with flooding after Wednesday night's storms.

West-central Wisconsin has some of the worst flooding.

The Buffalo County sheriff's department said up to eight inches of rain fell in 45 minutes, washing out roads and forcing some families to evacuate.

In the small town of Gilmanton, Wisconsin, it will take some time for the small town to clean up. People who live along a creek in Gilmanton were told more than 10 inches of rain fell in a couple of hours, pushing boats, propane tanks and even a swing set across the street.

For Dave Pelke, the evening commute through the area didn't go as planned.

"Trying to get to Gilmanton -- it's about 10 miles from here, not even," he said. "I ain't going through that. I'd rather be alive than dead -- that's just me."

When Roads turned to rivers, he plotted his next move. His home was one of many in Buffalo County in the bullseye of flooding Thursday morning.

Tony Hill is among one of six families forced from their homes in Gilmanton. Jeff Laehn was another left to cleanup heaps of mud from his basement.

Fifteen miles southwest in Cream, Wisconsin, water closed in on farmland and at one point, propane tanks floated away. One pickup decided to drive through the water -- a move law enforcement is warning against.

All county roads in Buffalo County remain closed. The sheriff's department doesn't want vehicles driving through flooded roads since they don't know what's under the fast-moving floodwater.

By the time Dave Pelke got home, he could see his horse pasture again. Still, it will be some time before his animals can safely walk around here.

"Now I understand what they mean by flash flood," he said. "It's right now."

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