MOUNTAIN, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Town leaders in Mountain confirmed a disaster declaration Thursday evening in hopes of paving the way for federal or state relief.
“It allows us to help to bring in the National Guard, which we believe will be coming on shortly,” said Lindor “Skip” Maletzke, Mountain’s chairman. “It gives us more power for other intergovernmental workings.”
Residents in the area are still cleaning up damage from last weekend’s storms.
Even with days of cleanup behind her and ahead of her, Elaine Rosner considers herself one of the lucky ones in Mountain.
“Yeah, we have a lot of work, but at least we can still stay in our house, that is the main thing,” said Rosner.
Rosner’s home was spared from damage and a generator has been powering it.
“Anybody who wanted to come over to take a shower or stay, they were welcome,” said Rosner.
That type of assistance is what Maletzke says has helped get the community through the last couple days.
County emergency management officials are currently assessing damage to see if the area qualifies for financial assistance, according to Maletzke.
“It was a fairly narrow swath that came through,” said Maletzke. “In the case of Mountain, pretty much all of our 92 miles of roads were tree-covered and inaccessible.”
Eight towns have been putting together assistance meetings for next week at the Mountain Community Center. Residents from Townsend, Lakewood, Riverview, Doty, Mountain, Bagley, Brazeau and Breed are invited.
The meetings will be open-house style on Tuesday and Wednesday from noon to 6 pm.
“We’re expecting somewhere between 8 and 15 agencies and that would include health needs, food needs, grants, and low-income loan things that may be available,” said Maletzke.
If residents have common questions or inquiries, Maletzke recommends calling 2-1-1 for help.
