11-Year-Old Girl Killed in Fierce Wisconsin Thunderstorm That Injures Three Dozen People
- Posted on July 2, 2011 at 8:01pm by
Christopher Santarelli
- Print »
- Email »
SIREN, Wis. (AP) — A fierce thunderstorm swept through a normally rural Wisconsin county that was packed with holiday campers, toppling trees that killed an 11-year-old girl, blowing ashore boats and injuring more than three dozen people, officials said Saturday.
The storm moved across Minnesota and Wisconsin on Friday, packing winds approaching 80 mph and hail as large as softballs. In northern Wisconsin’s Burnett County, at least 37 people went to hospitals after the storm toppled hundreds of trees and left several thousand utility customers without power.
A search was underway Saturday along the St. Croix River for missing canoeists, the Wisconsin Emergency Management Office reported. Boats were upended and blown ashore in the area, while an airport hangar in neighboring Douglas County collapsed.
The storm came at one of the worst times of the year for rural Burnett County: a summer holiday weekend, when the area’s lakes and rivers attract tens of thousands of visitors, said Julie Kittleson of the county’s emergency response center.
“The population here is about 15,000. But this weekend there’s probably about 80,000,” she said of the county, which is about 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
Law enforcement reported the girl who died was killed when a tree fell on her at a campground in the country, though no other details have been released.
The storm moved into southwest Minnesota on Friday afternoon and took nearly six hours to pass through before slipping into northwest Wisconsin, said Matt Friedlein, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The bad weather had moved out by Saturday morning, when skies were clear and sunny with temperatures in the 80s.
Anita Frase, the owner of Bay Park Resort & Campground in Trego, said she and the resort‘s 300 visitors knew a storm was coming but they didn’t expect it to hit so swiftly and with such intensity.
“About 9 o’clock the winds picked up and within five minutes it was upon us. Those were probably the darkest skies I’ve ever seen up here,” she said, adding that the storm knocked down several trees, with some landing on vehicles. “A lot of people were very nervous. Some of the kids were crying.”
Workers were also rattled at a Grantsburg store near the St. Croix River that rents canoes, kayaks and gear. Store clerk Aimee Van Tatenhove said the wind was so strong and loud that no one realized a medium-sized tree had fallen into the roof until employees went outside.
In Minnesota, a driver was injured when hail the size of a baseball hit a vehicle’s windshield, said Meeker County Sheriff Jeff Norlin. Roofs were torn away in several towns.
“Some communities had multiple passes at this storm — including golfball-, baseball- and softball-sized hail,” said McLeod County Emergency Management Director Kevin Mathews, who said two tractor-trailers were blown off local highways.
Two Minnesota state parks sustained tree damage so heavy that a conservation officer who was making sure no campers were in the area had to abandon his vehicle and hike through on foot, said Chris Niskanen of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
He urged people to stay out of Camden State Park and St. Croix State Park, which are technically closed because of the state‘s government shutdown but could still attract campers because they’re public land. He cautioned that some trees may have fallen over but gotten hung up on other trees.
“It’s an issue of health and safety,” he said. “Since those parks are closed they don’t have the personnel to go in and remove (the trees). People need to know there’s a danger if they start wandering around.”
Comments (16)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
MSNBC Host Snaps in Heated Segment: ‘What in the World Is Riskier Than Being a Poor Person in America?’ 677 Comments
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 624 Comments
‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’ 522 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 360 Comments
Have You Seen the Giant ‘Sand Obama’ Sculpture in Charlotte? 309 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 110 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 171 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 146 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 300 Comments
Scathing New Ad Capitalizes on Rep. Ryan‘s ’Fading Obama Posters’ Remark 124 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 110 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Debber
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 10:23pmWow!!! My sincerest condolences to the family of the young girl who died in this storm–I cannot imagine a worse end to a family outing.
My daughter and I were up in that area less than a month ago (drove through from Tomahawk to Spooner) …. and they just recovered from a massive storm just a few years back–and now this! Two of my brothers and their youngest daughters (now teens) were up in the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage last summer when a similar storm blew in–and destroyed many of the very rustic campsites in that area, too.
We lived in the country between La Crosse (coulee country!) and Eau Claire–and over the years “enjoyed” many magnificent summer storms that would come roaring over the hills. Our neighbor had raked his hay early in the afternoon, and by evening a little tornado that came over the hills behind our house and his, lifted the hay, swirled it around and dropped it all over the field–tore out a mess of trees, skipped over our house and pounced down a mile away, and kept bouncing until it demolished a campground about 8 miles away.
There is nothing like a summer storm to make one stand in awe of our Creator’s immense power! And then take a look at a snowflake or the variety in butterflies or flowers or the human body….the incredible creativity of our Mighty God. Oh yeah! It is amazing.
If only we — as a country, as a people — would cry out in repentance and turn from our wicked ways. He will/would heal our land
Report Post »SageInWaiting
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 9:35amStep back and look at these events: the storms (KY and GA; Joplin, MO; this one in MN and WI). Hurricane hasn’t really begun yet. This continual increase in intensity and frequency should be a wake-up call – it has evry sign of “judgement.” Look at our government, bot state and federal: have we EVER been so divided by world-view? Compromise is impossible, it seems. A house divided will fall.
Report Post »justsaying
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 8:45amPrayers to everyone, especially the little girl’s family.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 7:25amGod Bless the little girl’s family and all those other storm victims.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 7:24am“A fierce thunderstorm swept through a normally rural Wisconsin county” You mean it’s not rural sometimes? Sometimes it gets very urban? Who writes this stuff.
Report Post »BGR38
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 5:42amGod bless the family and the little girl, very sad. Makes my eyes leak think of them.
Report Post »nomercy63
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 1:09amPoor girl!!!!!
Report Post »Agnes
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 12:25amThinking of all everyone involved!
Report Post »muhamadhater
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 11:20pmmy heartfelt wishes to the little girls parants…God bless u and my prayers are with u..so so sad…ugh ,I hate 2 see stories like this!! Best wishes 2 u!!!
Report Post »Ducky 1
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:33pmSad story. Very intense storm!
Report Post »Sola Scriptura
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:27pmI live in the Twin Cities. I didn’t see the brunt of it because I was in a theater, kinda bummed cause I like storms..but the thing was massive. Thank you for the prayers!
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:10pmGod Above, please comfort the families of the injured and the child lost; bring fast healing to those who are injured, and bring peace to the community over the loss and the damages taken.
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 8:51pmMy prayers are with all of them.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 8:40pmPlease, God bless all of the people impacted by this storm. God help the family of the little girl who was killed.
Report Post »Eraty Bab
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 8:35pmHeartfelt prayers for all involved.
Report Post »silentwatcher
Posted on July 3, 2011 at 2:17pmI’m in the country about 1/2 from Burnett….this storm hit us so hard and fast I thought the house was going to come apart and lose some of my outbuildings. Saw a couple of hailstones hit the ground the size of softballs. Trees literally bent over double. I’ve been in this area for 14 years,,,the worst I’ve seen here. Last time I saw a storm of this magnitude, a tornado was involved,,,,but not on this one. I don’t normally get too upset when a storm hits,,,but this one made me ‘duck my head.’
Report Post »