the lake water cuts a giant gorge through the earth, joining lake delton to the nearby wisconsin river. phillip white is watching from the shore and begins documenting the catastrophe from a safe distance across the lake. there goes that big one. wow. just when it looks like things can t get much worse, the unthinkable happens. there was a house i was watching from across the river. the water went around that house, took out this big, huge pine tree that was in front of it, then took out the house. this is unbelievable. that water is going the there it goes. holy cow. unbelievable. oh, my god. once it tipped in, it would hold together for a little bit, but then it got caught up in the chasm of the water rushing down there and then bust apart. onlookers watched helplessly as the unforgiving waters eat away at the land beneath neighboring homes, exposing
just had a sick feeling all day long. about midnight, i remember the sand kind of came over that wall and it reached our patio, like, within minutes. the time that we decided to evacuate was i think some time around 1:30 a.m. on monday morning. when the frams returned by daylight, it s an alarming scene. the lake water has found its own exit route. it s flowing over the lake shores and downhill across the county highway. it s a serious turn of events, but could be good news for the frams. tim said i think we might be okay, because it might take the water away from our home. but so much fast-flowing water has the force of a raging locomotive and the highway starts to crumble under the momentum. 5,000 pound pieces were falling into a creek that was newly created between the river and the lake.
i said to the crewman, jewel, give me 60 seconds in the water. if the dog doesn t come, we ll just have to leave her. i started calling the dog s name. she turned around, saw me and she swam straight for me. the desperate priscilla wastes no time. she swam into my arms. thumbs up. get me out of here. i was in mid-air with the dog in my arms thinking, you re a lucky little girl. finally, the exhausted dog makes it into the arms of her happy owners. it was just perfect, yeah. just couldn t have been any better. coming up, a family s dream home is buried at the bottom of a river. i saw the first two houses go through the gorge. oh, man. this is unbelievable, that water going. oh, my god. i mean, it was absolutely unbelievable. when caught on camera: wet and wild continues. [ coughing ]
ground up, slips into the water intact and floats down river as if weightless, before disappearing into the churning mud and rapids. the frams are not alone. their neighbors, the kubinicks, are away when they get news their vacation home is in danger. my neighbors called me and told me the house might go down. the house breaks in half. hours later, the kubinicks arrive to an unimaginable scene. everything was gone. house was gone. everything. in a mere four hours, lake delton is completely drained dry. the entire body of water coursing into the lower lying wisconsin river. the event upends the billion dollar local industry that s based on the lake, shutting down resort areas and other businesses. for people whose hopes and
corner, he turned right to go up what used to be river road and was now a rushing river itself. there were nine cars trapped in the middle of this water that had absorbed the roadway. it s an extremely dangerous situation for a helicopter rescue, but it s the best chance of saving the stranded victims. we were five to ten feet away from trees on one side, a cable dangling between power lines, getting really close to an overhang of trees. either of them were extremely dangerous, electricity or a cable getting fouled. one or the other, we were in a very tight location. there s no time to lose. it s a bitter 20 degrees out and the icy waters are taking a toll. even worse, the wind from the helicopter and force of the water make it too dangerous to lower anyone down for a rescue assist. so it s up to the mother to get herself and her young son into the basket. we need help!