WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW
UPDATED: One person is dead following a blaze that ripped through a Wausau area mobile home, according to a Wausau Fire Department news release.
The fatal fire was called in at 11:18 a.m. Saturday for a home at 461 Lazy River Drive. Crews responded within six minutes but the home was fully involved by the time the first engine arrived. Two people escaped the blaze but one person, an elderly man, was trapped inside and did not survive.
Fire officials say their response to the fire was slightly delayed due to the sheer number of fire and medical calls received during Saturday’s storm. In all, 15 personnel responded with three engines, one ladder truck and the battalion chief, officials said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation and the name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of relatives.
About 30 minutes prior to the fatal blaze fire crews had been called to a North 60th Street home in the town of Maine for a report of a fire that started in the basement. By the time crews arrived, the home was engulfed in flames. All occupants of that home were safely evacuated and the Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the residents.
Then at about 12:10 p.m. a third house fire was reported in the village of Spencer, after a tree fell on the home.
The fires are several in a series of blazes that broke out as a powerful storm blasted through the area. Downed power lines caused multiple fires including one on Sixth Avenue in Wausau that was extinguished after power was cut off to the area. Rescue efforts for some calls have been hampered by the number of trees that have fallen into roadways, blocking emergency vehicles from getting through.
In addition, a person was reportedly struck by lightning at the Big Eau Pleine campground.
South of Hwy. B in Plover, a Wausau Pilot & Review reader reported seeing a trampoline on a roof and another trampoline in the median of a roadway.
Thousands of residents remain without power on Sunday. According to Wisconsin Public Service, service may not be restored for days in the hardest-hit areas.
