LAKE DELTON, Wis. -- Wisconsin National Guard engineers on Tuesday are assessing what it will take to restore a popular lake in the Wisconsin Dells area after it rose above its banks and flooded a county highway and destroyed several nearby homes.

READ: Lake Delton Officials Didn't Renew FEMA Flood Insurance | SLIDESHOW: See Viewer's Photos Of Rushing Floodwater From Lake Delton | SLIDESHOW: See Images Of Lake Delton Flooding | SLIDESHOW: See Viewer's Photos Of Lake Delton Flooding | VIDEO: See Video Of Lake Delton House Collapse | VIDEO: Homes Washed Away In Lake Delton Flood | VIDEO: Doyle Talks About Lake Delton Damage | VIDEO: Lake Residents, Business Owners Express Shock | VIDEO: Owner Of Tommy Bartlett Show Discusses Disaster | VIDEO: Business Owners Say Lake Delton Flood Might Harm Tourism | VIDEO: Locals Search Emptied Lake For Riches | TALKBACK: What Do You Think?

The engineering team will determine what equipment and supplies will be needed to begin repairs at the 267-acre Lake Delton, which is now dry after the rain-swollen body of water flooded into the Wisconsin River on Monday.

Other assessment crews are also fanning out in southern and western Wisconsin to check a slew of dams damaged by weekend storms that brought torrential rains and flooding.

Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman Jessica Iverson said that no major damage has been reported at any of the dams.

Lake Delton, which is a key part of the Wisconsin Dells tourism area, appears to have suffered the worst. The Sauk County lake overflowed, washed out a large swath of County Highway A, wiped out about four homes located on the shoreline and drained into the Wisconsin River.

Nobody was injured and the homeowners either evacuated or weren't there.

The rush of water sent tons of earth, rocks, trees and at least three homes sailing down the river. One house crumbed and plunged into the water. The first washed away before noon on Monday and floated down the river.

About 80 percent of the lake has washed down the river, WISC-TV reported.

The rush of water tore a gash through the highway about 400 feet wide and 50 feet deep. The road used to separate the lake from the river, WISC-TV reported.

The lake emptied into an almost barren bed.

County emergency management director Jeff Jelinek said on Monday that the adjacent Dell Creek Dam on Lake Delton was overtopping, but was still holding. Officials with the state's Department of Natural Resources said that the lake drained into the Wisconsin River after a highway embankment failed and water poured out of the lake, essentially emptying it.

Officials said that the rushing water wasn't caused by the dam's failure, but rather the area is low-lying and has been inundated by recent rains.

Gov. Jim Doyle toured Lake Delton and other flood-ravaged areas on Monday. He said that Lake Delton is critical to the $1 billion Wisconsin Dells tourism industry, and that state workers will try to replenish the lake as soon as possible.

Doyle said he doesn't know when Lake Delton will be refilled. The governor said it will only take about two weeks for water from the river to refill the 267-acre lake. But the question is how long it will take to divert and correct the river's current path back into the lake.

The governor said he wants to get it done quickly because a lot of people's livelihoods depend on the lake.

He also said that about 100 people in 30 southern Wisconsin counties remain in shelters following heavy rain and flooding over the weekend.

Area Residents Express Shock About Lake's Disappearance

People from all over the area came by to look and see the emptied lake for themselves on Monday.

In a matter of hours, residents and business owners along Lake Delton stood and watched their homes and businesses drain away, WISC-TV reported.

Homeowner Tina Pekar watched her home fall from the shores of the lake and said that she was trying to make sense of it. Tina and her husband Tom Pekar, who are both retired, said that they couldn't believe what they were seeing. In a few seconds, they watched their 3-year-old retirement home cracked in two and was devoured by the flood waters running out of control.

"It's surreal," Tina Pekar said. "We can't even believe it yet, you know. It just doesn't feel real."

Nearby resident Robert Dorn, who lives along the Wisconsin River, said that he saw the strange sight.

"Boats upside down, pontoon boats floating down the river, the next thing we saw was a house," said Dorn.

Dione Leonhardt, co-owner of the River's Edge Resort, said that she saw the deluge.

"It looked like a giant waterslide, but it was just coming from so fast around that bend. It was just amazing," Leonhardt said.

Several residents along the lake weren't covered by flood insurance. They said they tried to get it, but couldn't.

Tina Pekar said that she is one of those who didn't have insurance.

"Everything, everything we own is there," she said. "We were concerned about flooding and they said that that would never happen. It's never happened and that we have control on both ends of the lake."

Some Businesses Say They're Through, Others Vow To Continue

Owners of the businesses that relied on the now-depleted Lake Delton have had a mixed response to the disaster. Some said that they're finished while other said that they hope to reopen before the tourism season gets into full swing.

Bill Pettit, who has owned the Delton Oaks Resort on the lake for 12 years, said that he watched the embankment wash away and saw the flood water push a two-story lakefront house into the lake. It quickly disappeared under the rushing water.

Shortly after, he saw the foundation of two other lakefront houses wash away, leaving the houses in rubble.

He said that his 30-unit resort is out of business. It's been in operation since 1948.

He's been calling summer vacationers to alert them that the lake is gone and that boating and fishing won't be possible.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Dells boat tours are planning to reopen even with the lake at a low level.

"The Tommy Bartlett Show" plans to reopen with a variety show on the lake shore starting on Thursday, but its signature daredevil water skiing acts can't return until the lake is refilled, which might not happen this summer.

The show has been a mainstay in the area since the early 1950s and typically offers two shows a day.

Andrea Novotny, the show's spokeswoman, said the show will reopen with just a portion staged on land. Novotny said that it will be a variety show featuring aerial acts, comedy and juggling.

She said that the show is trying to keep most of its 150 employees on staff this summer, but some of the water skiers might join the Cypress Gardens water ski show in Florida.

The Original Wisconsin Ducks amphibious vehicle tours planned to reopen on Tuesday with a new route. They were closed on Monday because of high water levels before the lake overflowed.

The Jet Board Adventure Tours and the Lower Dells Boat Tour which operate on the Wisconsin River were closed on Monday but scheduled to reopen on Tuesday.

Dells Officials Say They're Open For Business

Officials with the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Conventions Bureau said that they want tourists to know that the popular destination spot remains open for business.

However, visitors planning on staying on Lake Delton are being urged to check on their reservations before leaving.

The visitors center has a message on its Web site and toll-free telephone line encouraging people not to cancel their vacation plans.

The Wisconsin Dells area attracts about 3 million people a year.

The convention bureau said that 90 percent of the businesses are open, which includes all the area's 21 water parks.

Dane County Officials Warn About Possible Damage From Lake Flood

The water draining out of Lake Delton and into the Wisconsin River will eventually affect the water situation in Dane County and could cause erosion and property damage.

Dane County Kathleen Falk said that area residents should be mindful of the higher water levels.

"We know that we have more rain in the forecast -- up to 3 inches over the next couple of days," she said. "And we also know that our water system here in Dane County has probably not yet experienced the bulk of the water flow that will still be coming upstream to our county."

A Slow, No Wake order has been issued for all four major lakes in Dane County -- lakes Monona, Mendota, Kegonsa and Waubesa, officials said.

Fearing contamination from the flood waters all beaches on lakes Mendota and Monona are closed.

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