Although no reports of flooding were reported in the Sauk Prairie area Aug. 19-20, neighboring communities like Black Earth, Mazomanie and Cross Plains – where an unofficial reading from a rain gauge reported 15.33 inches in a 24-hour period – kept the Sauk City and Prairie du Sac fire departments busy. The Sauk City Fire Department started the evening of Aug. 19 with a call to a structure fire just before 9 p.m. in the town of Berry. A mere 40 minutes after returning to the station to recoup, the department was back out in the treacherous conditions after a request for mutual aid was sent out by the Cross Plains Fire Department. The water was rising fast with the ground saturated and unable to absorb so much water.