Stay out of Eagle
Eagle residents and people just interested in taking a look at the aftermath of the tornado that touched down in Eagle last night are being told to stay away this morning.
Power lines are still down and in some cases still live, making the situation dangerous. About 20,000 customers are still without power throughout the area. At the height of the storm last night, more than 40,000 were out, according to reports.
Police are keeping people out of the area. Highway 67 is closed from Highways LO to 59, through the heart of the village.
The tornado touched down at about 9:15 p.m.Monday. Waukesha County Sheriff Dan Trawicki said his department had deputies on the scene last night, along with officers from about 20 other municipal police departments.
About 20 homes were "substantially damaged," he said. There were no fatalities and only minor injuries, which Eagle Fire Chief Justin Heim credited to "the grace of God."
Heim's own home is among about a half-dozen that were leveled by the storm. He was at the Fire Department when the storm hit, but his family was trapped in the basement of their home and had to be rescued. There were three or four other rescues of trapped families, he said.
Trawicki said law enforcement and fire officials went door-to-door to check on residents' well-being. Everyone is accounted for, he said.
"You just hope and pray something like this never happens," Heim said. The sitatuion was "almost overwhelming," but was even more overwhelming was the support from area law enforcement and neighboring fire departments, he added.
Heim said about 20 Fire Departments from Waukesha, Walworth and Jefferson counties have helped.
One of Heim's top priorities on a "very short list" of things to examine once the cleanup is completed is to determine why the village's tornado sirens never activated.
Crews from the National Weather Service were expected to survey the area today.
E-mail Newsletter
Top stories from the Lake Country area. Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!
» It's a beautiful day for a Farmer's Market
» Crash closes lane on I-94 in Summit
» Stay informed, recycle more in Waukesha County
» Islamic Society speaker presents at Mukwonago church tonight
» Butler Inn to celebrate 25th anniversary this weekend
» 'Robin Hood' at Arrowhead this weekend
» Anti-Walmart protesters pack Oconomowoc City Council meeting
» Kettle Moraine moves to 12-0
» Dousman teen charged with hit-and-run after underage drinking party
» Early meeting, full agenda for Village of Mukwonago
» Pewaukee fireworks officially "reignited"
» Last stand for Indian mascot in Mukwonago
» Waukesha man arrested in Chicago “high drug area,” charged with Vernon home burglary
» Supreme Court won't hear Mukwonago mascot and nickname appeal
MORE: See full gallery
SUBMIT: Post Your Photos now
Do you have news or a nonprofit event that you would like to share with the community? Whether it's a community organization, a business, a local school, or a notable neighbor, we'd love to hear about it.
- Winter Services, Inc. Hires General Manager
- Hamilton students score high in W!SE Financial Literacy Certification
- Lake Country Clean Water Festival Makes a Splash
- Palmyra-Eagle Students Studying Abroad
- Express Employment Professionals Awarded “Best of Staffing”
- First annual Village Extreme to be held June 22, 2013 in Brookfield Village
- Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Annual Picnic
- FREE Week- Basketball Academy
MORE: See the rest of Your Stories
SUBMIT: Post Your Story now
Lake Country residents share their views on news, happenings and current events.
LivingLakeCountry.com features more than a dozen community bloggers - a group of volunteer conversation leaders who are up on the latest topics and never short on an opinion. Just a few are pictured here. Check out the rest and see what they have to say!
View All Blogs
Discussion Guidelines
Do you want to become a Community Blogger? LivingLakeCountry.com welcomes your thoughts and opinions. Contact us for more information:
I want to blog
Information on Mukwonago Publications
Find metroparent locations
We encourage your comments but will strive to remove discussion that contains personal attacks, racial slurs, profanity or other inappropriate material as outlined in our guidelines. We post-moderate comments on most content, but may choose to pre-moderate some comments so please be patient if you don't see yours appear right way. We also ask for your help by reporting comments you think are inappropriate.
Please login or register to post a comment.