FREMONT, Neb. (KMTV) - Water has gone down a couple of feet in the Timberwood Lakes area but it’s not enough.
Some residents had to be evacuated and County Road 19 remains closed.
Steve Tellatin of the Fremont Rod and Gun Club says it’s not hard to watch.
“Roads and things have been washed away, we’ve lost at least one cabin for sure,” he said. “Beyond that it’s just the water taking its course.”
That cabin’s foundation was raised up feet after last year’s flood. An ice jam is still formed between county roads 19 and 12 on the Platte River, forcing the water outside the banks.
The water is going down near the Platte River ice jam west of Fremont but cabin, that was repaired after last year’s flood, looks like a complete loss.@3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/qdnGZwHpE5
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) February 21, 2020
Dodge County Emergency Manager Thomas Smith says it’s gone down with the warm weather but there’s still lots to go.
“We’ve seen some ice chunks come down the river so it’s breaking up right now and it will probably continue to break up tomorrow,” said Smith. “The issue is if it breaks up and starts jamming up somewhere it can happen really quickly, water can rise really quickly.”
They’ll use drones over the weekend to monitor the jams. Tellatin is still looking on the bright side.
“It’s hard. I think if you want to look at anything positive, it didn’t get into town,” he said.
Dodge County emergency managers say they will continue to monitor the Platte River throughout the weekend to make sure no more ice jams are forming up and forcing water to flow places it normally doesn’t.
In related news, the United States Army Corps of Engineers says they have closed the final breach of the Missouri River Levee System L-550.
