Despite widespread flooding in southern Wisconsin, the state's highest-profile tourist attraction remains open for business, Gov. Jim Doyle said today.

"We want people to know ... there's a lot going on. People are really enjoying the Wisconsin Dells right now," Doyle said, even as he acknowledged that road closures are making it hard for some people to get to the Dells.

Hundreds of roads, including parts of the state's interstate system, remained closed Friday after heavy rains Thursday added to widespread flooding.

Doyle and state Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Goetzman said parts of 30 to 40 state highways remained closed Friday afternoon, as well as part of I-94 between Milwaukee and Madison and I-39-90-94 near Portage, where the "whole area is largely under water," Doyle said.

Parks closed

Officials also closed three state parks and two state bike trails this morning. Devil's Lake State Park — Wisconsin's most popular park — was closed after heavy rain caused severe flooding and road damage. Rocky Arbor remains closed because of downed trees from last week's storms. Wildcat Mountain State Park also remains closed because of a washout on Highway 33. It is expected to remain closed at least until June 29.

The Elroy-Sparta State Trail and the 400 State Trail between Elroy and Reedsburg also were closed.

"Both the north and south shores at Devil's Lake are under water and we are not currently able to accommodate visitors," said Rich Evans, regional park and trail supervisor for the DNR.

Devil's Lake will be closed at least until Wednesday, when staff will reassess the situation. Current park conditions are available at www.wiparks.net.

Governor's report

Just back from a helicopter tour over the Wisconsin River, Spring Green, Avoca, Baraboo and Portage, Doyle said many areas remained under water Friday.

He said so far there are no reports of serious injuries or deaths in the flooding and that "at this point, the dams are holding." Water levels at the Mukwonago Dam — which officials feared could fail — in Waukesha County had begun to go down, he said.

He also said no municipal drinking water systems in the state had been damaged because of the flooding but that those with private wells should assume their water is contaminated if the well casing was submerged in ground waters.

Doyle also said that communities that had not been a part of the federal flood insurance program can still apply and be retroactively compensated for damages, with individual property owners eligible for up to $28,000 in aid.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency were assessing the damage in Sauk, Columbia, Vernon, Crawford and Milwaukee counties today. The state could request a federal disaster declaration for those counties today or Saturday.

Assuming that declaration is issued, officials will look at 25 other counties affected by the flooding to see if they can be added to the list, Doyle said.

Doyle also said a chief concern of the state is the damage caused by the flooding on agriculture, especially in western Wisconsin, which has a large portion of the organic foods market. Organic farms could lose that designation if flood waters contaminate growing conditions, he said.

Agriculture 'getting killed'

Early estimates for agricultural damage in Lafayette county could top $55 million.

"We're getting killed agriculturally," said Chief Deputy John Reichling of the Lafayette County sheriff's office.

Countywide, about 15 percent of the 129,000 acres of corn and 35,500 acres of soybeans are likely lost, he said.

"Those fields for the most part have been planted and they can only stay under water for so long before damage is irreversible," Reichling said.

Alfalfa, the county's other major crop, had already been about 80 percent destroyed by last winter's harsh conditions, he added.

Next up: Rock County

In Rock County, authorities were emphasizing to residents that though they may be familiar with the ups and downs of the Rock River from previous floods, this time is different, and evacuation from low-lying areas is recommended.

Predictions are that "the river is to rise at least another two feet beyond its current levels in the next five days. Based on forecasted predictions, this event will reach at least the level of a 100-year flood event and residents (who) have never been affected by river flooding before are likely to be affected during this event."

At noon Friday, water was already two to more than three feet above flood stage on the Rock River at Newville, Indianford, Afton and on the Sugar River in the town of Avon. A detailed flood plan for Janesville and forms for reporting damage are available on the city's Web site, www.ci.janesville.wi.us.

Big water in Grant County

In Grant County, emergency management officials said some of the roads closed Thursday had been opened, with lots of clean-up going on Friday in Potosi, Lancaster and Livingston. The extent of damage from an unconfirmed tornado in Livingston Thursday night was yet to be determined.

The communities of Potosi and Lancaster lost at least six homes in the flooding Thursday and Friday, said Julie Loeffelholz, assistant emergency services director in Grant County. Highway 133 was closed between Muscoda and Blue River, she said, and through Potosi.

Government infrastructure damage in Grant County was estimated to be at least $5 million and counting, she said. More than 500 calls had been received so far from residents to report damage.

Ducks to the rescue

In Sauk County, the amphibious Original Wisconsin Ducks were called into action Thursday night between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. to retrieve Baraboo area residents threatened by the rising Baraboo River. The company's general manager, Dan Gavinski, said the World War II-era vehicles helped rescue about 200 people from homes and businesses.

The evacuees were brought to a parking lot near the Circus World Museum. From there, the rescued residents were taken by shuttle to Baraboo's downtown square. Among those rescued was a former Original Wisconsin Ducks driver from the 1970s, Gavinski said.

Seven ducks and 19 people in all volunteered for the mission and were escorted by Lake Delton police to Baraboo.

"We are proud to be able to help in Baraboo's time of need," Gavinski said. "This kind of operation is exactly what these unique vehicles were made for."

Rising water in Beaver Dam

In Dodge County, a downtown Beaver Dam furniture store cancelled its Friday the 13th sale this year after emptying one display floor of sofas, recliners and other upholstered furniture as water flowed toward the doors.

"We are still in business,'' said Rick Fiegel, store manager of McKinstry's Home Furnishings, 131 Front St., Beaver Dam.

About 20 volunteers and employees of the 150-year-old business moved furniture upstairs all evening Thursday and piled sandbags three feet high at the three back doors facing the parking lot and the Beaver Dam River, Fiegel said.

Highway 113 at Highway W southeast of Baraboo was washed out today by heavy rains. This afternoon, area residents had constructed a makeshift bridge to cross 113.

Also in Sauk County, two people were plucked from their car early this morning after flash floods covered Durwoods Glen Road near Merrimac, said Chris Jensen, fire chief of Merrimac Fire and Rescue. Jensen said three other people whose car stalled at the same location made their way to a nearby home and were taken by rescue workers across the flood waters to safety.

"They weren't in any danger — just stranded in places they couldn't get out of," he said.

Jensen said the volume of water rushing through small creeks in the Merrimac area was "unbelievable" early this morning; his own rain gauge measured six inches of precipitation. He added that some small bridges near Merrimac in the town of Caledonia were washed out, but alternate routes were available.

"We can get to all of our service area," Jensen said. "We can get to them, just not by our usual routes."

Avoca off limits

Access to the Iowa County village of Avoca was still limited Friday as evacuated residents attempted to return home.

As of late Thursday night about 90 percent of Avoca — a village of about 650 people — was completely inundated. Even the shelter in Avoca has been shut down, and people have been moved to Muscoda.

"We're attempting to kind of clean things up ... so residents can come back," Ken Palzkill, Iowa County emergency management director, said Friday. "Not all the village has power."

More than 100 homes are thought to be damaged "and that's a lot of the village," Palzkill said.

Palzkill asked that people who don't live in the village avoid the area. "Folks are just not wanted there at this time," he said.

Wisconsin Emergency Management also was reporting the evacuation of up to 50 residents from 20 homes at the Rock River Mobile Home Park in the town of Aztalan near Johnson Creek today because of rising water from that river.

The city of Jefferson also is urging people to stay away from that community because of huge traffic backups caused by road closures. Sharon Schmeling, chairwoman of the Jefferson County Board, said Highway 18 is closed through Jefferson because of construction, and Highway 26 is closed because of flooding, leaving just one route through town.

Emergency management officials are monitoring several dams throughout the region, including several that have failed or are close to failure.

Recent areas of concern include the Figor Dam near Wyocena in Columbia County, which was found to have a 40-foot-wide breach in the embankment, which likely happened earlier this week. No damage was reported downstream.

Rome Dam on the Bark River in Jefferson County is close to flowing through an auxiliary spillway — a rare occurrence — and the Nemahbin Roller Mill dam near Delafield was losing ground again and being monitored.