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Wisconsin’s Irma response scaled back

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Most of the Wisconsin National Guard soldiers that were supposed to help with Hurricane Irma are no longer going.

Captain Joe Trovato, a spokesman for the Guard, said Florida officials determined they didn’t need as many people.

More than 2,500 troops from around the state were activated. Trovato said they sent about 650 of them on Sunday and they’ll be staying. He says they’re expected to help shuttle supplies and provide security. He said the rest are either coming back or they never left.

A team of Wisconsin first responders is also heading home from Florida. The state’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force was asked to help with searches in the Jacksonville area — but the mission was called off when Hurricane Irma did not hit the region as hard as expected. The team is made up of first responders and search dog handlers from the Antigo, Appleton, Beloit, Chippewa Falls, Green Bay, Janesville, La Crosse, and Oshkosh fire departments.

WHBY

State officials will follow up on damage in Ashland

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U.S. Highway 2 at Odanah PHOTO Tim FIsh

State officials will do a one-year follow up Wednesday, on a weather disaster in northern Wisconsin.

Members of Governor Walker’s cabinet will hold a year after check-in with local officials and emergency managers in Ashland, to discuss response efforts and identify remaining needs in the wake of heavy rains in July of last year, that caused widespread damage in three northern counties.

Walker declared a State of Emergency for eight counties in northern Wisconsin, due to damage to property and infrastructure in the region.

Wisconsin National Guard members to help with Irma recovery

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More than 2,500 members of the Wisconsin National Guard will help with the massive recovery efforts in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

The Wisconsin Guard’s mission is expected to include rescuing people who were trapped by rising floodwaters, preventing more injuries and protecting property left vulnerable by residents who fled the approaching storm. Governor Scott Walker said those troops will “stand ready to help our friends in Florida.”

Soldiers being deployed from the state include the entire 32nd “Red Arrow” Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 1157th Transportation Company, members of the 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs says other Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard elements have also been called to report for duty and begin traveling to Florida.

Irma has been one of the strongest Atlantic Ocean storms ever recorded. The hurricane made landfall over the weekend and left behind a path of property damage and flooding as it moved up through the state. It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm and moved into Georgia.

Electric cooperative crews to help restore power in Florida

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Members of the Wisconsin National Guard aren’t the only ones from the state answering the call for help in Florida following the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

President and CEO of the Wisconsin Electrical Cooperative Association Steve Freese says a total of 47 individuals from 18 of Wisconsin’s electric coops met in Janesville Monday morning to travel together to Clay Electric, west of Jacksonville where 75 percent of customers in 14 counties are without power.

Included in the group are two journeyman lineman from the Rock Energy Cooperative in Janesville – Justin Busfield of Janesville and Brent Labui of Machesney Park, Illinois.

The group, which includes 42 vehicles will work for weeks restoring power to 170,000 customers.

WCLO

Three Wisconsin Republicans vote against hurricane relief bill

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Three members of Wisconsin’s delegation voted no Friday, as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill with more hurricane relief, a higher federal debt limit, and three more months of general government funding.

Wisconsin Republicans Sean Duffy, Jim Sensenbrenner, and Mike Gallagher were among the 90 Republicans voting no.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville said heavy disaster expenses changed the entire budget calculation, and President Donald Trump negotiated a deal with Democrats because he wanted a bipartisan moment as the nation responds to victims of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

Some Republicans argued that it was wrong to combine hurricane aid with less popular things that would have been hard to pass on their own. Wisconsin Republican Glenn Grothman joined Ryan and Wisconsin Democrats Ron Kind, Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan in voting for the measure.   The bill was sent to the president on a vote of 316-90.

Walker asks for federal inspection of July flood damage

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Governor Scott Walker has taken another step to help western Wisconsin homes and businesses clean up their flood damage from July. The governor has asked the U..S. Small Business Administration to inspect damage in La Crosse County where 37 homes and businesses were destroyed or had major damage — and Tremepeleau County where 19 houses and companies suffered the same fate.

If approved, those owners could get low interest SBA loans. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says the region did not have enough uninsured flood losses to approve direct grants for home and business owners.

 

Cash donation best way to help Harvey flood victims

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The best way to help flood victims in Texas is also among the easiest — a cash donation to a reputable recovery organization. “Cash is very flexible, it’s efficient, it doesn’t require any kind of packaging or transportation, it can get to the scene and be used right away to purchase materials to help people,” said Wisconsin Emergency Management spokesman, Tod Pritchard.

Pritchard said people in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast don’t need donations like used clothing, and the effort to transport such items will actually impede recovery efforts.

Wisconsin Emergency Management has not been asked to help with the disaster in Houston — yet. Pritchard said the state is ready to help as needed, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and the catastrophic flooding. “We are working to coordinate other state agencies to identify assets in Wisconsin, and be prepared to send them, if requested.”

Wisconsin is part of a nationwide organization called EMAC — the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. “Those crews down there will help, and as this goes on, they’ll need relief.”

FEMA teams visiting Wisconsin

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Water overflows at a dam in East Troy. (Photo: Ready Wisconsin)

Representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are visiting southeastern Wisconsin today.

FEMA spokeswoman Cassie Ringsdorf says agency staff will join state officials on a tour of areas damaged by flooding earlier this month, as they work to evaluate what kind of federal assistance Wisconsin may qualify for. “This assessment is kind of that first step for us to get a little bit of truth on what happened, take a look at the size and scope of the damage, how long people were displaced,” she says.

Representatives will be in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties, where flooding damaged roads, homes, and other buildings. Wisconsin Emergency Management says there’s at least $8.6 million in damage to public infrastructure in the region, as a result of flooding caused by storms on July 11-12. More than 3,800 homes in the area were also damaged or destroyed.

Flooding closes parts of multiple state parks

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Flooding on the Sugar River State Trail (Photo: DNR)

Amenities within several state parks are shut down, after storms that swept across the state this week downed trees and flooded trails.

Crews are still assessing the damage at state parks in west central, southwest and south central Wisconsin.

Officials say the horse campground and all horse trails at Wildcat Mountain State Park will be closed until at least late next week. The sand beaches, boat landings and some parking lots at Governor Dodge are under water – and many trails will be closed through the weekend.

The Wisconsin DNR is advising people who plan to visit an area of a state park or check out trails should call ahead to make sure they’re open.

State of Emergency declared in southeastern Wisconsin

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Water overflows at a dam in East Troy. (Photo: Ready Wisconsin)

Governor Scott Walker has declared a State of Emergency in three southeastern Wisconsin counties, due to flooding brought on by heavy rains this week.

The declaration was triggered by the up to eight inches of rain that fell on Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties July 11-12, which has caused widespread damage throughout communities in the region. Damage includes several roads washed out or underwater, along with homes and mobile home parks flooding. The Honey Creek Dam in East Troy is also being overtopped by water, which the DNR is monitoring.

Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth says virtually every county road has been affected by flooding in at least one location. He is urging residents to treat the situation like a blizzard and stay off the roads – “If you don’t have to leave, don’t go.”

Governor Scott Walker Major General Don Dunbar are expected to tour the flood damaged region today. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who represents the district, also said he plans to visit the area today.