Michigan
Northern Michigan lake drained after dam failure in Alcona County
Alcona county dam failure leaves a hole in a community
Buck’s Pond is now a muddy mess after floodwaters breached its dam
Barton City — This week’s flooding across northern Michigan is being blamed for the collapse of a privately owned dam in Alcona County, washing away the small lake that the structure held back.
Buck’s Pond was reduced to mud this week after its privately owned dam failed, destroying the gravel road over the 94-year-old dam structure.
The dam burst around 8 p.m. Monday, sending all of the water in Buck’s Pond north through Comstock Creek to Hubbard Lake, a large recreational boating lake in Alcona County that’s ringed by summer cottages and year-round homes, said James Plohg, who owns property on the lake.
“As it was rising, it started like just washing little parts of it away,” Plohg told The Detroit News on Thursday. “And then it just got so big that it wasn’t able to contain it. And it just opened up.”
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy classifies the Buck’s Pond Dam as a low-hazard dam because its rupture has little downstream impact on other water infrastructure and property.
Lakes in the Green Association, a local homeowners group, owned the dam, according to state records.
It was last inspected in August 2017, according to records in the Michigan Dam Inventory, the state’s catalog of data on the ownership, age and condition of 2,552 dams scattered across Michigan’s Lower and Upper peninsulas.
State records indicate the dam was in “satisfactory” condition, able to withstand a 100-year flood and that it “meets applicable tolerable risk criteria.”
Plohg said the demise of the Buck’s Pond Dam will leave a hole in his and his neighbors’ remote corner of rural Alcona County, located between Oscoda and Alpena.
Plohg said he’s been in contact with state lawmakers who represent Alcona County, hoping they could secure state funding to rebuild the dam — and restore Buck’s Pond.
“It was beautiful,” Plohg told The News. “I mean, people come here to fish. There’s the beach over there. Little kids came to swim, picnics, meetings, a lot of boats, pontoons go around the island. We had (boat) parades on the lake. It’s not much of nothing right now.”
“This doesn’t describe how nice it used to be,” Plohg added.
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Before-and-after images of homes on Black Lake near Onaway provide perspectives on how the community was affected by April flooding.
Snowmelt and rain have stressed dams and caused lakes to flood in northern Michigan.
The Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office shared on social media photos and videos that the agency captured of Cheboygan County floods on Friday, April 17 from both the ground and air.
Deputies “observed a level of destruction that simply cannot be understood from ground level,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
Google Maps images taken from two locations on Black Lake in 2024, compared with the Friday images, show how the floodwater has changed the landscape.
On North Black River Road and Taylor Road, the water has overflowed to North Black River Road.
In the 400 block of South Black River Road, water has also flooded homes and lakeside property.
“Black Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullet Lake, the Sturgeon River − and nearly every waterway in the county have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,” the sheriff’s office post said. “What should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.”
“Our hearts are with every family affected by this flooding,” Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said in the post. “We know many of you are facing significant damage to your homes and property, and the emotional toll that comes with it. Please know you are not alone. We are working around the clock with our partners to ensure safety, provide support, and begin the process of recovery. Stay strong, stay connected, and don’t hesitate to reach out for help, we will get through this together.”
Nearby, the UAW Black Lake Conference Center shared images on social media of floodwater threatening its Old Lodge.
The conference center is located at 2000 Maxon Road in Waverly Township.
The Cheboygan County Road Commission and the Cheboygan County Office of Emergency Management closed the bridge at Five Mile Point Road on Saturday, April 18 due to significant road washout in the area of South Black River Road and Red Bridge Road.
The sheriff’s office had encouraged residents in parts of the area to evacuate earlier in the week and said Saturday it had completed evacuation efforts on the west side of the lake.
TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 20-year-old Kalamazoo man is dead after crashing his vehicle into a tree Friday evening in Texas Township, according to Michigan State Police (MSP).
It happened on South 3rd Street and West PQ Avenue around 6:50 p.m., troopers said.
While he was driving in a no-passing zone, the Kalamazoo man swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and subsequently crashed into the tree, according to MSP.
The 20-year-old died at the scene. A passenger was hurt, but police said their injuries were non-life threatening.
Troopers do not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor, and the two were reportedly wearing seatbelts.
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This incident remains under investigation by MSP.
A Southfield man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and equipment to create fake documents, federal prosecutors said.
Jerome Antwan Andrews, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing the driver’s license information and Social Security numbers of more than 250 people in a scheme that caused more than $550,000 in fraud losses, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said.
As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors say Andrews admitted to having an embosser, a laminator, a card cutter and an ID card printer and admitted that his business model was aimed at creating and selling fake Social Security cards and driver’s licenses in the names of real people.
“Jerome Antwan Andrews and his criminal associates stole more than $1.5 million by submitting hundreds of fraudulent claims to a pandemic program intended to help unemployed American workers. Today’s conviction of Andrews represents yet another attack in our war against fraud. It sends a stern warning that my office will relentlessly investigate those bad actors greedily lining their pockets with U.S. taxpayer funds,” said Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Andrews faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, according to prosecutors. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor investigated Andrews’ case.
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