A potential life-threatening flash flood warning was issued Thursday morning after emergency management reported the imminent failure of the Big Falls Dam, with flood waters already washing out a bridge in Oconto County and flooding underway along the Little Wolf River.
The National Weather Service in Green Bay said the warning for the Little Wolf River in Waupaca County would remain in effect until 4:15 p.m. Officials said people in the nearest downstream town, Big Falls, were affected by the dam break and told anyone in low-lying areas below the dam to move immediately to higher ground.
Emergency management reported the imminent failure at 10:16 a.m., and the warning was issued as the river was already flooding, showing the threat was not theoretical. That made the message to the public urgent and simple: turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads.
The warning tied the danger directly to the Big Falls Dam and the communities downstream along the Little Wolf River, where conditions were active as the alert was issued. With flood waters still washing out a bridge in Oconto County and the river already overtopping areas, the risk extended beyond one town and into the roads people might use to leave it.
The immediate question is no longer whether the system was in trouble, but whether anyone in the flood zone got out before the water cut off the low ground. Until the warning expires at 4:15 p.m., the safest move for anyone below the Big Falls Dam is the one officials gave first: get to higher ground and stay off flooded roads.
