Waiting for a break in rainfall

Emergency officials continue to keep a close eye on the rising flood waters on the Fox River and Chain O' Lakes, and are distributing sandbags to areas in need.

Fox Lake Emergency Services Disaster Agency Coordinator Ed Lescher said he hadn't received any emergency phone calls Saturday and that only a couple of pallets of sandbags have been delivered to people in need.

"We're keeping an eye on it and it's going to get higher," he said. "But there's really nothing we can do about it."

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He said about 50 homes have water on their properties, but less than a dozen have flood damage at this point.

The Fox River in New Munster, Wis., has crested at 3 feet above flood levels, about 1 foot below predictions made earlier this week by the National Weather Service.

However, the Chain O' Lakes in Fox Lake and Antioch is still rising because of the high water coming in from Wisconsin. Most recent values show Fox Lake was at about 14 inches over flood levels, and about 5 inches over the point where homes start to get damaged.

Roads remain closed in subdivisions surrounding the Chain in Fox Lake. Roads along the east side of Grand Avenue, Knollwood Park subdivision, and Park Avenue in King's Island subdivision off Route 12 all are closed because of water on the pavement.

Barring any additional rainfall, the Chain O' Lakes should crest within the next 36 hours, then start to drop next week.

However, the National Weather Service said there should be about a 10-day break in rainfall, which should be plenty of time for the lakes and rivers to lower.

Lake County officials estimated Friday the Chain would rise an additional 8 inches this weekend, but that amount depends on rainfall forecasted to fall over the system in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Lee Shannon, head of Antioch's Emergency Services Disaster Agency, said there is still scattered flooding throughout Antioch, but that for the most part, things are doing well.

"We have about a dozen homes in the low lying areas that are surrounded by water, but it looks like everything is holding up so far," he said.

He added Fox River Gardens in Antioch Township seems to have the worst flooding at this point, but the water was held off mostly because of a huge sandbag effort by residents and volunteer sailors bused in from Great Lakes Naval Center.

"Let's just hope we do not get more rain than predicted," he said. "If not, we should be in pretty good shape."