Storm uproots trees, snaps power poles in Oconto; 4,000 lose electricity countywide

Kent Tempus, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·2 min read
An Oconto Police officer takes notes while speaking with an Oconto resident Thursday morning following the Wednesday night storm, which uprooted this tree and others in the city.
An Oconto Police officer takes notes while speaking with an Oconto resident Thursday morning following the Wednesday night storm, which uprooted this tree and others in the city.

OCONTO – More than 2,500 customers were without power Thursday morning in Oconto County, about one-fourth of them in the Oconto area, according to Wisconsin Public Service Corp.

Another 1,500 members served by Oconto Electric Cooperative had no power about 8:30 a.m., down from 4,000 initially, according to a spokesperson.

Oconto Fire Rescue Department Chief Josh Bostedt said the high winds uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and snapped off power poles.

“It was bad,” said Jeremy Wusterbarth, superintendent of Public Works and Utilities for the city.

According to the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office, no injuries due to the storm have been reported.

Fallen trees blocked a number of roads after the storm, and a section of State 22 west of Oconto remained closed as a utility crew works to replace broken power poles, the sheriff’s office said.

State 22 is closed from Cream City Road to Logtown Road, with traffic detoured around the highway on those roads.

Wusterbarth, who spoke briefly as he was out helping clear streets of debris, said much of the north side of the city of Oconto was without power.

Bostedt said he understood there to be portions of other areas of the city that didn’t have electricity, as well.

A City of Oconto employee works Thursday morning to clear a street of a tree that was knocked down during the storm Wednesday night.
A City of Oconto employee works Thursday morning to clear a street of a tree that was knocked down during the storm Wednesday night.

As of 8 a.m., there were eight separate outages affecting 652 Oconto customers, according to WPS.

Oconto Fire also responded to a potential fire at a large shed in the town of Oconto that was demolished by a fallen tree.

The largest areas of outages in the county on Thursday were:

  • Townsend — five locations affecting 639 customers

  • Chase — 24 locations affecting 654 customers

  • Morgan — one location affecting 89 customers

  • Little Suamico — 20 locations affecting 718 customers

  • Breed — six locations affecting 157 customers (27%)

Downed power lines in the city of Oconto are seen Thursday morning.
Downed power lines in the city of Oconto are seen Thursday morning.

Among Oconto Electric Cooperative customers, the Abrams and Stiles areas seem to have been hit the hardest, OEC's communications and marketing specialist Katie Jagiello said in a Facebook post.

Crews from Taylor Electric and Chippewa Falls arrived to help restore power, she added. The utility is posting updates on its Facebook page.

‘”Our goal is to have 95% of the outages restored by the end of today,” Jagiello said.

“Crews are out working hard to clear roads and restore power,” according to a statement released by the sheriff’s office. “Travelers are urged to use caution and to not drive over downed power lines. Please slow down and move over for crews working on the shoulders and roadways.”

FOR MORE OCONTO COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website!

Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 431-8226 or ktempus@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Storm uproots trees, snaps power poles in Oconto County, power outages