Crews were out cleaning up widespread storm damage Thursday and working to restore power to more than 1,000 homes in the wake of severe thunderstorms that blew through the region Wednesday night.
The storms caused the death of a Menominee County woman who was killed when a tree fell on top of her car in Keshena. The Menominee Indian Tribe on Thursday confirmed her identity as Marlo King, 39, of Neopit.
The National Weather Service was in Shawano County on Thursday to determine whether some of the storm damage was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds.
Preliminary results released late Thursday afternoon indicated that most of the damage to Shawano County was caused by straight-line winds that reached speeds of 90 to 100 mph, according to a statement from Shawano County Emergency Management.
The preliminary results will be evaluated against an aerial survey over Shawano County conducted by the Department of Natural Resources.
The most significant damage in Shawano County was observed in Gresham, according to the statement. There was also significant damage to about a dozen homes in the Bonduel area.
Tornado warnings were issued shortly after 7 p.m. for Menominee, Shawano and Oconto counties.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a funnel cloud in the area of County Road F and Busch Road near Bonduel about 7:38 p.m.
Cloud rotation was also reported near Keshena, and the Menominee Tribe reported widespread power outages with downed trees and scattered debris. The storm also closed a portion of state Highway 47 for a time Wednesday night.
A damage assessment Thursday afternoon painted a grim picture of what tribal officials called a “devastated” area.
Keshena, the Legend Lake area, Middle Village and West Branch were still without power Thursday afternoon and the tribe reported it had received a tentative estimate that it may not be restored until Saturday.
Shelters were opened at the tribal office, College of Menominee Nation Technical Center and Menominee Casino.
Some areas were without water and people who reside in the areas of Keshena and Middle Village were being urged to conserve and limit their water usage.
The loss of power has shut down a lift station that serves Comot Lane, Pine Ridge, Subway, Save-A-Lot, and Family Dollar, meaning that the water that is currently in the wells is the only supply available to these areas.
The tribe said it will continue to monitor the status of the wells and take necessary precautionary measures to eliminate the risk for contamination.
Residents in the Trailer Courts and Red Wing Addition, which are without water, were being warned to turn off their gas powered hot water heaters until power is restored to these areas.
Tribal officials were also urging Keshena residents to exercise caution when leaving their home Thursday, as some electrical lines were downed and others were hanging low.
The Menominee County Sheriff’s Department said some secondary roads were impassable Wednesday night because of the large amount of tree damage.
The storms also knocked out power to more than 1,100 people in Wescott, and more than 1,000 south of Shawano and stretching to the Bonduel area.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, an estimated 600 people were still without power in Shawano County, but emergency management officials said there were expectations that all power would be restored before the overnight hours.
There were reports from Bonduel that the village’s siren warning system may have failed when the outage occurred Wednesday.
Village Clerk Barb Wickman said she heard from residents that the siren began going off just when power was lost to homes on the west side of the village.
She said the siren started blaring again about 12:15 a.m. when the power was restored.
The village opened its recycling center for extended hours Thursday and Friday to accommodate residents hauling debris from their yards.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department logged more than 50 weather-related calls during the storm and its immediate aftermath.
“I’ve never seen as many calls on the screen as we had (Wednesday) night,” Capt. Tom Tuma said.
A lightning strike caused an attic fire at the Autumn Lane Family Care nursing home in Birnamwood, forcing the evacuation of approximately 13 residents who were transported to another facility.
Lightning may have also been the cause of a house fire on Island Lake Lane in Red Springs, but that blaze was still being investigated. There were no injuries reported.
Trees and power lines were reported down throughout Shawano County, with a large stretch of them from the Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Reservation to Gresham.
Trees and power lines were also reported down throughout Shawano.
“In my 30-plus years here this is the most storm damage I’ve ever seen,” Police Chief Ed Whealon said. “It was chaotic for us for about two hours after the storm.”
Cellphone systems were inundated, Whealon said.
Police prioritized calls, responding first to those that were potential safety hazards such as downed power lines. Responses were coordinated with Shawano Municipal Utilities and Department of Public Works crews.
Responses were also complicated by people out and about viewing the storm damage.
“We had more traffic than the Fourth of July parade,” Whealon said.
“It’s human nature to want to go out and see what happened,” he said, but people wandering near downed power lines was a serious safety concern.
“We had a live power line on North Franklin Street and because of all the debris you wouldn’t have seen it until you were right on top of it,” Whealon said.
Whealon gave kudos to officers and to SMU and DPW work crews for their response to the emergency. The cleanup was continuing Thursday.
Alderman Woody Davis was up early Thursday morning cleaning brush and debris from his yard on Lincoln Street. He noted that he was lucky. A nearby neighbor had a tree from the front yard crash onto his roof, and a gray tarp covered the damaged area.
“I haven’t seen something like this come through in a long time,” Davis said. “I hope I never have to see it again.”
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