RINGLE – About 75 homes were damaged or destroyed when an unconfirmed tornado hit the Marathon County town of Ringle about 5 p.m. Friday, April 17.
Ringle Fire Chief Chris Kielman said in a Friday evening press conference that there were no deaths or injuries reported from the storm and all residents have been accounted for.
“We did have a few people trapped that were in their basements,” he said. “We were able to recover them with no injuries involved.”
Kielman said power is out in the area, trees are down and gas meters were snapped. All gas is off in the area and crews were working Friday night to restore power.
‘I have not seen devastation like this’
“I have not seen anything to this level,” Marathon County Sheriff Chad Billeb said of the storm damage. “I have worked through a number of tornadoes but for them to hit a residential area like this is rare in Marathon County.
“I have not seen devastation like this in my 35 years working in Marathon County,” Billeb said.
Billeb said the unconfirmed tornado tracked through the village of Kronenwetter, where there is “a little damage” off Martin Road and then it made its way to Ringle just before 5 p.m.
Marathon County also had trees over roadways and power lines down on Marathon County O and in the town of Stettin from storms that passed through the area, Billeb said.
“The residents here, in light of what they have been through, have been incredible to work with. I feel horrible for what they are dealing with,” Billeb said. “From what they have told us, their homes are a total loss. And, they’ve got a lot of clean up here and a lot of memories I’m sure they have to work through with what happened.”
Billeb said the county is working with the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin to establish a fund to assist those impacted by the storm. More information will be available in coming days.
“There are a lot of folks here who need a lot of help,” Billeb said.
The county is also asking people not to bring donations to the disaster area at this time because they are not equipped to accept or distribute donations.
Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@usatodayco.com or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @Jamie_Rokus.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Unconfirmed tornado in Marathon County damages 75 homes, no injuries
Reporting by Jamie Rokus, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
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