SUMAVA RESORTS | An early morning fire Sunday destroyed the pump used to protect homes in Sumava Resorts from the Kankakee River.

Fire departments from Lake and Lincoln townships and the town of Schneider responded to the blaze.

Lake Township Trustee Nikki Hanger said the cause of the fire is unknown.

"We don't suspect foul play," she said Sunday evening.

The fire came at a bad time for Sumava Resorts residents, who depend on the pump when the Kankakee River is high.

According to the National Weather Service, the river has slowly been receding, but it remained at 11.5 feet at Shelby on Sunday evening. Flood stage is 9 feet, but the man-made levee provides protection for about 3 more feet.

Dennis Strain, a former president of the Sumava Resorts Improvement Club and community volunteer, said the pump is used to keep the bayou at an acceptable level and river water off the roads.

"There's still a lot of seepage coming in," he said. "It's not as bad as it was, though."

Jody Melton, director of the Kankakee River Basin Commission, said he met with Hanger and Sumava residents, including Newton County Commissioner Jim Pistello, Sunday morning to discuss how to replace the pump as quickly as possible.

Hanger is spearheading the effort. She said the pump is expected to cost $20,000 to $25,000. Her township's Good Neighbors fund initially will be used because it is easily accessible.

Funding is expected to come from a variety of sources, possibly including the township, Newton County, emergency management and the commission.

Strain said freezing temperatures are helping keep water out in the fields, but the community's 1,000 sandbags are frozen together, so a new supply of sand will be needed.

Community volunteers today will tear down what remains of the pump house, which also was destroyed in the fire, Strain said.