Immediate need

Emergency & Immediate Safety

Life-threatening hazards, active advisories, curfews and what to do right now. Start here if you are in danger.

2 places to go or call 2 open now 2 you can call 6 things to know

Places to go & people to call

211 Wisconsin — help finding anything else

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Free, 24/7, confidential. A real person helps you find shelter, food, medical care or financial help.

24 hours a day, every day Free

Call 211 Website

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If you are not sure who to call, call this. 211 is staffed around the clock by people whose entire job is connecting you to local help, and they have live information on what is open.

Dial 211 from any phone
Text your ZIP code to 898211
Or use the website to search

Free and confidential. Interpretation is available in many languages.

Life-threatening emergency — call 911

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Fire, injury, someone trapped, gas leak, or a downed line arcing. Call 911.

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Call 911

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Response times may be longer than normal — many roads are still impassable and crews are stretched. Call anyway. If you can, tell the dispatcher the nearest cross street rather than only a house number, because street signs are down in the damage path.

Please do not call 911 for non-emergencies. Every non-urgent call delays someone who is trapped or injured. For damage reports, debris questions and general information, use the resources on this site.

Good to know

Downed power lines — stay back 35 feet

Assume every fallen wire is energised, even if it is not sparking or humming.

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Call 800-662-4797

We Energies emergency line — downed lines and gas odours

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A downed conductor can energise the ground around it, standing water, a chain-link fence, or a vehicle it is touching. There is no way to tell a live wire from a dead one by looking.

Stay at least 35 feet away and keep children and pets back
Never drive over a downed line
Do not try to move a line with a stick, rope or anything else
If a line falls on your car while you are inside, stay in the car and call 911. Only get out if the car catches fire — and if you must, jump clear with both feet together, never touching the car and ground at once, then shuffle away
Treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops

Drone flight restriction over Menasha through Saturday

FAA restriction bans unauthorized drone flights within 2 miles of the Menasha Police Department until 6:45 p.m. Saturday, August 1.

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The FAA has issued a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the tornado damage area.

Where: within a 2-mile radius of the Menasha Police Department.

When: from 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 28 until 6:45 p.m. Saturday, August 1.

No one may fly a small unmanned aircraft inside that airspace without authorization. Violations can bring FAA enforcement action and involvement from local law enforcement.

The restriction was requested to keep the airspace clear for crews working the disaster area, and law enforcement and other authorized agencies are themselves flying drones over the damage as part of recovery operations. An unauthorized drone in that airspace can ground a rescue or utility aircraft.

If you were planning aerial photos of your roof for an insurance claim:

Inside the 2-mile zone, wait until after Saturday evening, or use an operator who has obtained FAA authorization
Outside the zone, flights may proceed as normal — but confirm current restrictions before flying, as a TFR can be extended or expanded
Ground-level photographs are still worth taking now, and your claim should not wait on aerial imagery

Check current restrictions at tfr.faa.gov or in the FAA B4UFLY app before any flight.

Generator safety — carbon monoxide kills after the storm

Never run a generator indoors, in a garage, or near a window. CO poisoning kills more people than the tornado did.

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In almost every widespread outage, more people are hospitalized by carbon monoxide from generators and grills than were hurt by the storm itself. Carbon monoxide has no smell and no color, and an attached garage with the door open is not safe ventilation.

Run generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from doors and windows
Never in a garage, basement, crawlspace, porch or shed — even with doors open
Never grill or use a camp stove indoors for heat or cooking
If you have a battery-powered CO alarm, use it. If anyone gets a headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion, get everyone outside and call 911

Also: let the generator cool before refuelling, and plug appliances directly into it rather than back-feeding a wall outlet, which can electrocute a line worker.

Smell gas? Leave first, call second

If you smell rotten egg or hear hissing, get out immediately and call from somewhere else.

24 hours

Call 800-662-4797

We Energies gas emergency — call from outside the building

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Storm damage shifted foundations and sheared gas services across the damage path.

If you smell gas or hear hissing:

Leave the building immediately. Do not stop to gather belongings
Do not flip any light switch, unplug anything, use a phone indoors, start a car in an attached garage, or light a match — any spark is enough
Once you are well away from the building, call 911 or We Energies at 800-662-4797
Do not go back inside until a utility technician says it is safe

Menasha is under a local state of disaster

Non-emergency city services are limited. Stay where you are unless you are in immediate danger.

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Mayor Austin Hammond declared a local state of disaster after the July 27 tornado. The City of Menasha is effectively closed and non-emergency services are limited while crews search damaged areas and clear infrastructure.

Officials are asking residents to stay put unless they are in immediate danger. Downed lines, debris and heavy traffic are creating hazardous conditions and slowing emergency response.

If you are not a resident and do not need to be in the area, please stay away — extra foot and vehicle traffic is actively hindering rescue work.

Neenah is under a local state of emergency

Declared 5:30 p.m. July 27 and in effect until further notice.

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Acting Mayor and Common Council President Dan Steiner declared a local state of emergency covering the whole city, effective 5:30 p.m. July 27.

The declaration lets the city procure emergency goods and services, authorize overtime and personnel deployment, coordinate mutual aid with Menasha and Fox Crossing, and document damages and costs toward potential state and federal assistance.

Residents are urged to avoid damaged areas, stay away from downed power lines, follow instructions from public safety officials, and use caution traveling.

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