Incident Report #4 – July 2019 Statewide severe weather incident

Incident Report #4 – July 2019 Statewide severe weather incident 
July 24, 2019
Contact: Andrew Beckett                               Cell: 608-572-6073
 
SUMMARY
The State Emergency Operations Center continues to monitor and support power restoration and debris clean-up efforts from storms that hit the state last Friday and Saturday. The storms downed thousands of trees and left hundreds of thousands of people without electric service in northern and central Wisconsin. Debris removal efforts continued Wednesday in multiple counties.
 
Since Friday, utility crews have restored service to more than 273,000 customers across the state. As of Wednesday afternoon, approximately 16,000 customers remain without service. Of those, about 13,000 are WPS customers and 1,650 are serviced by WE Energies. Some of the largest reported outages are in Wabeno, Antigo, Stevens Point, Elcho, and Appleton.
 
Officials with the Barron County Electric Cooperative report about 400 customers remain without power. Many of those may remain without service until Sunday. Approximately 50-75 of those customers live around Loon Lake.
 
The National Weather Service now says there were 16 tornadoes that touched down in the state between July 18-20. Of those, nine have been rated EF-0, and seven were rated EF-1. Additional storm damages remain under review by NWS staff.
 
The state is continuing to work with county and tribal partners to collect damage estimates. Residents are encouraged to call 2-1-1 or 877-947-2211 to report damage done to private property. Property owners can also contact 2-1-1 for information on volunteer assistance that may be available in their area.
 
LOCAL EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTERS OPEN
Langlade County
Portage County (Enhanced Monitoring)
Menominee Nation
Wood County (Partial Activation)
 
LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS
Several counties have declared a State of Emergency in response to the storm damage, including Clark, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Polk, Langlade, Sawyer, and Vernon counties. The Ojibwa Nation, Village of Plover, and Towns of Enterprise, Knowlton, Ojibwa, Shoepke, Stockton and Rock have also issued emergency declarations.
 
ESTIMATED PUBLIC DAMAGES
The preliminary estimate for public sector costs associated with the storm is about $1.9 million. Many counties have not yet reported anything to the state, and these numbers are expected to fluctuate as cleanup and assessment efforts continue. Most of the costs incurred so far are for emergency protective measures and debris removal.
 
ESTIMATED PRIVATE DAMAGES
Damage assessments to private property are ongoing. Residents in affected counties are encouraged to document their damage and report the information to the state’s 2-1-1 service by calling 2-1-1 or 877-947-2211.
 
STATE AGENCY RESPONSE
 
Wisconsin National Guard
The Wisconsin Army National Guard successfully completed its mission in support of Langlade County on Wednesday, where soldiers distributed water to residents in need.
 
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Army National Guard will send two debris assessment teams to provide support to emergency management agencies in Polk and Barron counties. An engineer mobility support team will follow the assessment to provide heavy equipment for clearing debris in Polk and Barron counties. The Wisconsin Air National Guard will accompany the Army National Guard, providing chainsaw and debris removal teams in Polk County.
 
WI Department of Natural Resources:
The DNR has launched a webpage to providing municipalities, businesses and property owners information on cleaning up debris from the recent storm events. The site can be accessed at the following link - https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Waste/StormDebris.html
 
Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
DATCP is warning property owners to be on the lookout for traveling contractors, who may try to take advantage of the situation. Affected property owners are being urged to seek trusted contractors for repairs and to be leery of "storm chasers" that come knocking at your door with aggressive sales tactics.
https://readywisconsin.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/Incidents/2019/DATCP_20190724StormChasers.pdf
 
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
The OCI issued a release on Wednesday urging affected property owners to document damage to their property and to not make any repairs until they have talked to their insurance agent. Keep any receipts for repairs that are done.
https://readywisconsin.wi.gov/wp-content/uploads/Incidents/2019/OCI_NewsReleaseStorms20190724.pdf
 
 
VOLUNTEER AGENCY RESPONSE
 
Reception Centers
Reception centers remain open in Wood County at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, in Portage County at the Rosholt Fire Department, and in Oconto County at the Doty Town Hall.
 
Team Rubicon
Currently mobilizing a team for the Langlade County area to begin help with debris removal efforts.
 
2-1-1 Wisconsin
2-1-1 Wisconsin is collecting damage reports and referring callers to available disaster resources. Residents can also report damages online at: https://211wisconsin.communityos.org/damage-report
 
 
WEATHER CONDITIONS
 
Isolated thunderstorms were possible this afternoon into early evening, primarily across the west half of Wisconsin. Cloud to ground lightning, gusty winds and brief heavy rainfall may occur with the storms. No severe weather is expected.
 
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