A section of state Highway 122 near Saxon remained washed out and closed Thursday from floods that hit the region late Tuesday. Credit: Jacob Byk / Wausau Daily Herald

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Residents in northern Wisconsin are grappling with the aftermath of extreme storms and flooding that swept through the area earlier this week, leaving three people dead, roads washed out and some residents still stranded in their homes.

Authorities on Thursday confirmed that a third person had died as a result of the flooding.

Elmer Lippo, 82, of Marengo, was found early Thursday in a pickup truck in the floodwaters of the Marengo River in the Town of White River.

The Ashland County Sheriff's Office said Lippo was an elected supervisor for the Town of Marengo.

Meanwhile, authorities said Thursday that main roads in several counties are still closed, including U.S. Highway 2 between Ashland and Hurley, state Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 63. And chances are they will not reopen anytime soon.

State and county engineers will be out evaluating damage to bridges and roads over the next few days.

"We want to make sure we're making these roadways as safe as possible, as soon as possible," said Diana Maas, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation's northwest region. "We're out there actively working to resolve as many issues as possible, and many other roadways are open already."

Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in eight northern Wisconsin counties — Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Washburn and Price counties — after torrential rains flooded parts of the area, causing three fatalities, closing roads, destroying a harbor and washing out multiple roads.

Maas said the main corridors of U.S. Highway 2, state Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 63 are a major concern.

Repairs on state Highway 13 in Ashland County will take the longest, up to five months, she said. Two bridges near Highbridge were washed out and significantly damaged. The agency is hopeful an alternate route on county trunk roads can be used in a couple of weeks until the bridges on the highway can be replaced.

A bridge on U.S. Highway 63 also was significantly damaged near Grand View in Bayfield County. The state is working on terms to hire an emergency contractor by Monday. The highway will be closed for about a month, and there are no reasonable alternative routes in that area, according to Maas.

Water levels on U.S. Highway 2, which passes through Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties, are too high to assess the damage right now, she said. Officials suspect the damage is minimal and that the road will reopen in a few weeks.

"We're hopeful the water will go down by the end of the week and we'll be able to fully assess the damage," Maas said.

The closures come at the height of the region's busy tourist season. And local businesses and the state Department of Tourism are encouraging visitors not to cancel their vacation plans. Many businesses and parks remain open, they say. But they urged travelers to call the local chamber or tourism office, or check state websites for road closings and park and trail conditions.

Claire Rupnow of the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau, said the annual Bayfield Festival of Arts is still on for this weekend, but some people will have to make a significant detour to attend.

"Roads to the west are open, so people coming from that direction, like Duluth will be fine," Rupnow said. "People from Michigan's Upper Peninsula or southeast Wisconsin will have about a three-hour detour."

High waters and road closures continued to strand some residents in Bayfield and Iron counties on Thursday.

In the Town of Lincoln in Bayfield, about 26 people were isolated in their homes, and authorities were using boats to get supplies to them "on a road that is now a river," said Jan Victorson, director of emergency management for Bayfield County.

Washed-out roads in the Town of Gurney in Iron County had left four families stranded in their rural homes off state Highway 169 as of Thursday morning. Town Chairman Tom Innes said authorities were hoping to reach them through a back channel by the end of the day.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Coast Guard continued to patrol Saxon Harbor in Ashland County and monitor stranded boats, which were destroyed by the storms. Local and county officials are meeting with the U.S. Coast Guard to determine a damage estimate to the facilities and develop a repair plan for the harbor.

About 85 boats and 100 boat slips were damaged or destroyed, according to the Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center. As of Thursday morning, 40 of those were displaced, some ending up miles off shore. Six were unaccounted for, and four had sunk, said Christopher Yaw, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard.

"Pollution is the main concern because most of those vessels have fuel and oil on board," Yaw said. "We don't want any of that leaking and getting out into the environment so we're helping to get that cleaned up and mitigate those posing a threat."

Also Thursday, Sawyer County authorities were assuring residents that the Nelson Lake Dam is not in danger of failing. They continue to monitor water levels in Hayward, they said. And inmates from the Department of Corrections' Gordon Correctional Facility are helping to fill sandbags through Saturday.

The extent of the damage across the region is still being assessed. The Department of Transportation is working with the governor's office and the state Department of Administration, as well as the Federal Highway Administration, in an effort to secure relief funds.

U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy and Sen. Ron Johnson sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday seeking disaster assistance.

Below are the preliminary damage estimates for counties assessed so far by the Wisconsin Emergency Management Center.

■ Burnett County: about $375,000 in damage to roads, bridges and other public infrastructure.

■ Douglas County: about $602,800 in damage and repair costs from flooding of roads, bridges and public buildings.

■ Sawyer County: about $70,000 in minor damage reported to 15 homes, and $365,000 to public infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

■ Chippewa County: About $25,000 in damage was reported to one home. The damage was caused by a tornado that touched down near the O'Neil Creek Campground.