MADISON, Wis. — On Friday, severe storms ripped across the state of Wisconsin, leaving thousands of Dane County residents without power.
At 11:30 a.m. Saturday, there were thousands of community members in Dane County without power.
J. McClellan is the company spokesperson for Dane County Energy Management. He said thanks to efforts from first responders and utility workers, that number was brought down to 1,500 by noon on Saturday.
“You see that stuff and it is really dangerous at night, especially when there are downed power lines,” said McClellan. “Morning light really helped out utilities in being able to clear lines and reconnect things.”
In the Madison area, the MG&E outage map showed the Maple Bluff area was hit the hardest.
MG&E Workers attributed the outage of roughly 3,600 customers to downed tree limbs on power lines.
McClellan said it’s important that when storms like this happen, people have a plan for when the power goes out.
“Make sure that you reach out and have a plan with loved ones,” said McClellan. “If you do have medical equipment or have family members with medical equipment, people are going to need some help.”
Fire Chief Troy Hase said unlike Dane County, Columbia County saw far fewer complications from Friday’s storm.
“It was not as busy here as it typically is,” he said. “It was a little more south of us, but usually we respond out to fire alarms and trees down and try to work with Alliant Energy.”
When the tornado warning came in, Chief Hase and his team were raising money for their fire department at the Columbia County Fair, but they had to close up shop early.
“We locked our place down and then there was people that were still here that couldn’t get to shelter so we had to help them get into the shelter,” said Hase.
Despite the tornado warning, Hase said he saw many residents storm chasing, and he wants to remind the public how unsafe that is for them and his team.
“When there’s a problem like that, get home and get to a safe spot,” said Hase. “We had some people come to the fire station, we housed them in the basement until they could get in their vehicle and back where they were coming from.”
If you or someone you know is still without power, you should check your utility company’s website to find out when your power might be restored.