Kaukauna Utilities, workers from 7 municipalities work 16-hour days to restore power by Friday afternoon
KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WFRV) – Four days after the snowstorm, the ground was covered with more power lines and poles than snow. But at least the power was back on for all 6,000 Kaukauna Utilities customers that had been without it.
“Really, with this storm, we had quite a bit of ice buildup on the lines, and as the storm progressed, we had quite a bit more damage,” Kaukauna Utilities engineering and operations director Dave Pahl said. “Most of our damage actually happened between 5 a.m. Wednesday morning and 8 a.m.”
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As of Friday morning, only 56 customers were without power, and by 2:30 p.m., it had finally been restored.
“The rural north of Kaukauna Utilities territory is actually what saw most of the damage,” Pahl said. “Today is what everybody looks to see. They see the accomplishments of all their hard work.”
The hard work was a collective effort from seven additional municipalities that sent 23 linemen to assist Kaukauna Utilities 10. Manitowoc, Plymouth, Sheboygan Falls, Kiel, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield, and Sturgeon Bay all pitched in, but they lost progress at times due to the harsh weather conditions that carried into Wednesday.
“It was definitely a big battle against Mother Nature. We were able to mobilize everybody, and we did call in mutual aid from other communities in Wisconsin,” Pahl said of his crew’s all-out effort. “We actually had some [power lines] that were replaced Tuesday night, that actually snapped again, and then we had to replace brand new poles.”
More than 30 poles snapped in all, and the majority were on streets running east-west due to the wind out of the north. Workers say that powerful winds on wide open farm fields caused the powerlines to shake, which snapped the poles.
Marshfield Utilities lineman Kyle Hoffman felt the effects of several long back-to-back days. He arrived Wednesday afternoon following his two-hour long drive, but that was the least of the long hours.
“About 16-hour days is what we’re out doing,” he said. “It gets exhausting by the end of the day, especially with the weather we had. It wears you down a little quicker.”
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He was put up in a hotel far from home, and he said that he was motivated to get the job done because of the camaraderie from his colleagues as well as the need from the community.
“With everybody working here and the amount of people that came out to help, it helped speed up the process pretty quick,” Hoffman said. “Just knowing that we’re able to get everybody back on and that they’ve been out for days now.”
