By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
With sustained winds peaking at about 40 mph and gusts above 60 mph, it was difficult to keep your hat on March 8.
A wind warning was issued for last week due to the high wind, and area municipalities felt that wind’s force. Branches were stripped from trees, trees were knocked down and, in one instance, a billboard tumbled to the ground.
“We had a lot of calls, I can tell you that,” said Deb Rintamaki, the administrative assistant at the City of Burlington Department of Public Works.
Around 2,000 people were without power Wednesday afternoon, including downtown Burlington at City Hall and the police department – which ran on a backup generator.
Karcher Middle School and Winkler Elementary School also reportedly lost power.
“It was a lot stronger than we had anticipated, and caused a lot more damage than we had anticipated,” said Police Chief Mark Anderson.
The city was set to do a special pickup throughout the city Wednesday for branches and brush that had blown down.
The billboard was broken at the base of its posts out on Highway JS (West Chestnut St.), in a farm field.
Parts of the Village of Union Grove lost power, including one of the wells and Union Grove Elementary School.
However, the power stayed on at Village Hall.
“The lights flickered a few times,” said Village Clerk/Treasurer Jill Kopp.
Outages were reported throughout western Racine County, including in the Waterford area.
City of Burlington police estimated that they received more than 50 calls due to the windstorm.
In the Town of Waterford, Director of Public Works Ken Hinz reported last week that there were branches and trees down, but no major reports of damage.
“We were lucky,” Hinz said. “We were really lucky.”
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