Dredging stopped at Lake of Three Fires

Workers have shut down the dredging operation of a southwest Iowa lake for a second time. Today’s stoppage was due to a break in the control structure holding back the silt-water that’s being dredged from the Lake of Three Fires near Bedford. Mark Johnson of the Department of Natural Resources says dredging operations have been suspended while they try to fix the problem. Did recent rains cause the break?Johnson says the rain didn’t help their cause, but it’s probably not the source of the problem. The Lake of Three Fires sits about three miles northeast of Bedford and covers 95 acres. Dredging of the lake began on April 12th, but things were shut down two days later due to a mechanical problem. Dredging started back up on May 1st and continued ’til that log broke this morning. A 30-acre “containment area” has been created to hold the “spoil” of silt-heavy water that’s being scooped out of the lake. Officials say the silt will eventually settle to the bottom and allow the silt-free water at the top to flow back into the Lake of Three Fires. The park surrounding the lake opened in 1935, and offers camping, boating, and trails for hiking, horseback riding and snowmobiling.