It could take days to restore power to some of the 20,000 customers in Brown County, WPS says, as cleanup from Wednesday's storm continues
It could take a couple of days to get power restored after Wednesday night's storm blew through Brown County.
Wisconsin Public Service on Thursday was working to restore power to more than 21,000 customers as residents and businesses in the county try to get life back to normal.
Some Wisconsin Public Service customers in the Green Bay area and in the Fox Valley, however, should expect a multi-day effort to restore power, WPS announced about 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Workers and homeowners cleared fallen trees across the county — from a cemetery in Allouez to lawns on the west side of Green Bay, and other areas that were hard hit by high winds.
Both Hobart and Brown County declared states of emergency.
Hobart's state of emergency requires that drivers obey all road closures, avoid driving on roads that have been blocked by fallen trees and branches, and obey any orders that village officials may post related to the storm, according to an announcement from Village President Richard Heidel.
Earlier, Hobart officials urged in an emergency message for people to stay off the roads "unless absolutely needed. There are still many power lines down on the roads along with other debris."
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the county; it will stay in effect until further notice. He reminded drivers to obey posted road closures, and avoid areas where there are downed wires and other dangers.
"This declaration enables the county and its municipalities to become eligible for state and federal resources necessary to support cleanup and recovery efforts" he said in a written statement to the media.
The Brown County Health Department issued a reminder that people who have been without power for four or more hours should discard perishable food, including meat, fish, cut fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers, and never taste food to see if it's fresh.
Elsewhere in the county, some communities reported traffic lights out of order. Ashwaubenon officials said in a tweet that motorists should treat non-functioning traffic lights as they would treat an intersection posted as a four-way stop
Overall, drivers are urged to avoid areas where Wednesday night's storm moved through the county, knocking down trees power poles. Crews from WPS and WE Energies are working throughout the area to restore power to customers who were still without electricity Thursday morning.
As of noon Thursday, 20,521 WPS customers were without power, including 10,433 in Green Bay, 2,980 in Howard, 2,215 in Hobart, 1,664 in Ashwaubenon, 1,656 in Suamico. WE Energies reported 1,697 customers without power in Pulaski.
Brown County Emergency Management late Wednesday said it will likely be several days before "trees, power lines, and other hazards" can be removed from roadways where they had fallen.
Damage on Wednesday included a semitruck overturned on State 172 as the front end of the strong storms entered the area about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Three eastbound lanes were closed at Ashland Avenue because of the overturned truck. The lanes reopened to traffic around 7:45 p.m.
Along State 160 west of Pulaski, about 15 power poles were knocked down and snapped off.
Multiple accidents with injuries have occurred due to power outages that left traffic lights out, the police department said Wednesday. For people who have to travel while a traffic light is out, the departments reminded people to treat each intersection like a four-way stop, allowing each direction to take turns.
The departments also warned people not to approach downed power lines.
People are asked to continue to report storm damage to non-emergency police number at 920-391-7450 and emergency police calls to 911. Wisconsin Public Service can be contacted for assistance with electricity and power lines.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay police, Hobart officials urge avoiding roads after storm
