COLBY − Within hours of a tornado tearing through the Colby area, residents, neighbors and others were out in the community Thursday, May 15 volunteering their wood cutters and chainsaws to help clear as much debris as possible before the sun set.
The National Weather Service in La Crosse confirmed a tornado near Colby moving northeast at 45 mph at 5:21 p.m. Thursday. Law enforcement confirmed the tornado on the ground, according to the National Weather Service. The intensity of the storm has not yet been determined.
By 7:45 p.m., just over two and a half hours later, groups of volunteers, EMS and electric linemen were out cleaning up the numerous downed trees and grounding the live wires from the approximately 20 downed power structures. Their focus was getting all of the roads open to traffic, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin photographer at the scene.
According to Xcel Energy’s electric outage map, nearly 500 customers in the Colby, Spencer and Unity area were without power due to storm damage, as of 12 a.m. Friday, May 16.
Several homes in the Colby area suffered damage as well as Colby Chrysler Center, 820 S. Division St. in Colby, where the local dealership’s once-pristine vehicles now sit battered in dents from flying debris and shattered window glass litters the parking lot. Colby Chrysler Center’s building suffered damage as well.
This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Cleanup begins after Colby tornado damages vehicles & buildings and knocks out power
Reporting by Gabi Broekema, USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin / Marshfield News-Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
