Ellison Bay Disaster Community Portal

By Nick Freimuth | Source: DoorCountyDailyNews.com

A settlement worth approximately $21 million from a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Green Bay was settled in favor of the family of a Michigan couple killed in the Ellison Bay propane explosion nearly two years ago. The tragedy that took the lives of Patrick and Margaret Higdon on July 10, 2006 moved another step closer to finality with the Federal Court ruling.

According to Stuart Sklar of Fabian, Sklar & King in Farmington Hills, Michigan the plaintiffs in this case were the estates of Patrick and Margaret Higdon, their children James, Patrick and Meghan, Margret’s parents Margery and James Brooks, Margret’s brother Daniel and Cathy Brooks and Margret’s sister Kathy Brooks and Obie Burch. The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, family was vacationing at the Cedar Grove Resort at the time. Sklar said putting this part of the ordeal behind them was a relief.

Sklar and Ralph Tease of Habush, Habush, and Rottier in Green Bay represented the family. Sklar said the co-council invested a great deal of time and effort in this case.

The family of Patrick and Margaret Higdon has been shown a great deal of respect from the Bloomfield Hills community, according to Sklar.

According to the Associated Press, propane lines for the expansion of the Cedar Grove Resort were installed in 1999. In March 2006, Cedar Grove Resort owners contacted PortSide Construction to upgrade electrical services to the resort docks. When PortSide visited the site in April, propane lines were not identified, nor did a subcontractor for Digger’s Hotline identify them. Two phone lines were identified, but not the buried gas lines.

Arby’s [sic] Construction, a subcontractor for Wisconsin Public Service Corp., dug trenches to install the electric lines July 7 and damaged the buried propane lines, which began leaking into the ground. The Door County district attorney found no evidence for criminal charges.

The Higdons’ suit named those businesses and eight insurance companies as defendants. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach issued his decision Monday.

By Emily Fredrix | Green Bay Press Gazette

The three children who watched their Door County vacation cabin burn, knowing their parents were inside and unable to get out, will receive a settlement worth more than $21 million, according to court documents.

The 16-year-old twin boys and 14-year-old daughter of Patrick and Margaret Higdon and adult relatives filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Green Bay claiming negligence caused propane explosions in Ellison Bay in 2006.

The lawsuit names Cedar Grove Resort, some construction companies, a utility and their insurance companies as defendants.

The adult relatives, including Margaret Higdon’s parents and siblings, who were vacationing with the family, have reached a settlement. But that hasn’t been made public.

The family is relieved to have the case settled, said Ralph J. Tease Jr., an attorney with Habush, Habush & Rottier in Green Bay.

The $21 million settlement reached May 6 will be split among the three children — Megan, Patrick and James — and go into trust funds for them.

The couple from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., died early July 10, 2006, while vacationing in a cottage with their children and other family members about 200 miles north of Milwaukee. Twelve other people were injured.

“This family was extremely close, and always looked forward to this family vacation,” court documents said. “On the evening of the explosion, the family had enjoyed their usual routine which consisted of a family meal at a local restaurant followed by family time spent in the rental units talking, playing cards and other activities.”

They were asleep when several explosions rocked the resort about 2:15 a.m., court filings said. Margaret Higdon’s parents James and Margery Brooks and the Higdon’s three children escaped. But Patrick, 49, and his 45-year-old wife were trapped, and Margaret’s voice could be heard calling for help, the documents said.

Megan Higdon, then 12, remained at the scene for 45 minutes after the explosion, in a panic, documents said.

“During that entire time, Megan was forced to watch as the fire consumed the building in which she knew her parents were trapped,” they said.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Nick Freimuth | Source: DoorCountyDailyNews.com

After the Ellison Bay explosions that devastated the small Northern Door Community, a bill that would make underground propane lines appear on Digger’s Hotline maps could be passed as early as next week. The Joint Committee on Finance approved the Propane Safety Act, sponsored by State Representative Garey Bies and Senator Alan Lasee, this week. The proposal aims to increase safety for both consumers and suppliers of propane gas in Wisconsin. “We have been working hard on this important safety legislation and our work is paying off as the bill is making its way through the process,” said Bies.

One of the two main components of the legislation is establishing new requirements for propane suppliers to meet certain financial responsibility standards in order to be licensed by the state. The new standards are designed to ensure that the propane suppliers operate a safety-conscious business with a well-trained staff and possess the financial backing necessary for commitment to their industry and customers. Senator Lasee explained the importance of this bill.

The second main component of the Propane Safety Act focuses on new communication requirements between propane suppliers and customers as well as changes to the Statewide Communication System, or Digger’s Hotline. The new requirements will work to make sure that propane suppliers and their customers stay on the same page concerning gas lines.

“With close cooperation of everyone who is involved in the propane industry, we have successfully created a package that enhances consumer safety,” stated Lasee. “This legislation represents that package and it has received strong bi-partisan support at each stage of the legislative process.”

Both legislators expressed their hopes that the Assembly and Senate will act quickly on the legislation before the regular session ends in March. Lasee said he hoped this bill would have been passed a year ago. With the importance of the legislation and the bi-partisan support, the authors do not foresee any potential obstacles to final approval by the legislature. From that point, the legislation would then be sent to the Governor for his signature into law.

Myles Dannhausen, Jr | Source: Peninsula Pulse

When the Pioneer Store fell a little less than a year ago, many feared a part of Ellison Bay’s soul was lost forever. It was just a grocery store, but it had carved out a very special place in the hearts of locals and visitors alike over the years.

In fact, so entwined was it with Ellison Bay lore that many speculated the town would die without it, as if the town’s heart had been cut out. Such ruminations were not merely hyperbole, as the store’s absence left a massive hole in Ellison Bay’s routine.

“In a very real sense the Pioneer Store has been, since 1900, the heart of Ellison Bay,” said Pastor Michael Brecke. “The rhythm of Ellison Bay has always been centered on the Pioneer Store.”

Read the rest of this entry »

by Myles Dannhausen, Jr | Source: Peninsula Pulse

In the spring of 2005 a massive disaster drill was held in Sister Bay involving several Door County and state emergency response departments and agencies.

The drill was funded with Homeland Security dollars and imagined a scenario with multiple explosions at different locations and a gas attack. The United States Coast Guard, Army Reserves, Sheriff’s Department, and several fire departments swarmed downtown Sister Bay. At the time, the picture seemed far-fetched in the quiet community of Northern Door, but little more than a year later the drill became a startlingly similar reality in Ellison Bay.

At about 2:30 am on July 10, 2006, a series of blasts rattled the town – some said two, some three, others swore they heard more. Patrick and Margaret Higdon, parents of three, were killed. Seven others were hospitalized. An underground propane line at Cedar Grove Resort had been severed days prior, leaking gas through the Swiss cheese rock awaiting a spark.

Read the rest of this entry »

Evidence doesn’t justify criminal prosecution, district attorney says

By Paige Funkhouser
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers • Green Bay Press-Gazette

STURGEON BAY — The Door County district attorney has decided not to file criminal charges against any person or business responsible for the fatal Ellison Bay explosions on July 10.

District Attorney Raymond Pelrine’s decision will not have an effect on the civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the survivors of the couple killed in one explosion, according to an attorney for the family.

Read the rest of this entry »

From wgba.com, VIDEO

No criminal charges will be filed in the deadly Ellison Bay Explosion that killed Patrick and Peggy Higdon last July.

See video at Link

From wbay.com

March 19, 2007 06:48 PM
By Andrew Fefer

Eight months after a series of deadly explosions in Ellison Bay, the investigation is complete and the Door County district attorney says no criminal charges will be filed.

The propane explosions rocked the small tourist town last year on July 10th. The three explosions happened within blocks of each other.

One blast caused the first floor of the Pioneer General Store to collapse, injuring one person. To the west. A second explosion at the Cedar Grove Resort happened at a building used mostly for storage. The most damage happened northwest of there, at a duplex cottage on the Cedar Grove Resort, where rescue crews found the bodies of two people who died in the explosions.

The report is hundreds of pages long and documents how a construction crew unknowingly severed a propane line at Cedar Grove Resort.

A year ago, the resort wanted an electrical upgrade at their north and south docks.

Within the report are sketches, maps, and documents showing how five different companies, most from Northeast Wisconsin, all failed to map out buried propane lines on the property.

The report goes on to say Arby’s Construction bored its way right through one of the propane lines while digging a trench July 7th.

Propane started leaking into the ground and didn’t stop for three days, fueling the explosions on July 10th.

Investigators found the leak after searching for five days.

The district attorney concludes there was negligence before the explosions but nothing criminal.

“The district attorney didn’t feel there was a high degree of criminal negligence there,” Sheriff Terry Vogel said after the report’s release.

Asked if he agreed, Sheriff Vogel said, “I concur with the D.A.’s decision on that, yes.”

To this day there’s no word on what ignited the propane. Officials say there may never be.

“For the most part we’re– our department is pretty much done with everything here. We are going to be working with this case for several years, working with some of the attorneys on the civil end,” Vogel said.

The report identifies a man who smelled a strong odor two days before the explosions but never reported it.

from wbay.com

By Sarah Thomsen

The Door County district attorney says he will not file charges against anyone involved in last July’s propane gas explosion in Ellison Bay that killed two people at the Cedar Grove Resort. A report released Monday by the sheriff’s department details the findings of the investigation, and the D.A. says nothing rises to the level of criminal negligence.

We now know Ferrell Gas installed the propane lines under the resort in the summer of 1999, and no Wisconsin law required the company to document their location.

We also know that on June 26, 2006, Arby’s Construction emailed Diggers Hotline to check for buried utilities before doing electrical work on the resort property. Two phone lines were marked but the buried propane lines weren’t.

And we know on July 7, 2006, Arby’s construction crew unknowingly damaged one of the propane lines, which started leaking into the ground. Three days later, a series of explosions rocked Ellison Bay.

Among the hundreds of pages in the report is an interview with Scott Wesa. He was fishing in the bay two days before the explosion and smelled a strong odor coming from the Cedar Grove Resort area but didn’t realize what it was.

“We were coming into the harbor in the morning, 10 or 11 A.M., and it stunk, it stunk really bad. It smelled like rotten eggs. I thought, well, they’re having all the E. coli problems up there, it’s just some sewage or something that blew in because the wind was blowing in.”

The smell drifting on to the bay was so strong it made Wesa’s eyes water and he became nauseous.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Fefer

Door County wants to know where and when propane distribution systems were installed to avoid accidents involving severed lines.

Last July, a propane leak caused a series of explosions that destroyed three buildings in Ellison Bay and left two people dead.

The county hopes to gather propane information so it doesn’t happen again. Just a day after those explosions, the county says, it started working to prevent another tragedy.

Mandatory registration is illegal in Wisconsin, so the county will ask homeowners and propane companies to notify the county where and then they installed their propane systems. The records will go on the county’s web site, so people can look before they dig.

County Administrator Michael Serpe says the database will be the first of its kind in Wisconsin.

Read the rest of this entry »

From wkbt.com

ELLISON BAY, Wis. The owner of the Ellison Bay landmark destroyed in a deadly propane blast last summer plans to rebuild her historic store and open it by the first anniversary of the explosion.

Carol Newman says blueprints have been drawn for a new Pioneer Grocery Store on Highway 42. The old one was lost in last July’s explosions that also rocked a cottage at the nearby Cedar Grove Resort, killing a Michigan couple and injuring their children.

Newman was asleep in the apartment above her store, but escaped serious injury.

She’s working closely with her contractors to make sure the new store looks a lot like the old one. Grounbreaking is expected this spring.

Meanwhile, new vacation units at the Cedar Grove Resort should be complete by spring.

From doorcountydailynews.com

The chairman of the DC board has some strong praise for those who responded to the recent explosion in Ellison Bay. While reflecting on the tragedy, Charlie Most was amazed at the compassionate response from all volunteers, business owners, various departments, and agencies. The original response and continuous support from the Sister Bay Liberty Grove Fire Department by Chief Chris Hecht and his crew went above and beyond expectations, according to Most. The Door County Sheriff’s Department and The State Troopers provided much needed security and assistance in controlling the scene. Most said the response from Door County citizens was completely unexpected.

Read the rest of this entry »

From doorcountydailynews.com

The Cedar Grove Resort and The Pioneer Store properties remain completely fenced in and a few insurance investigators are still conducting some tests. Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said all of his department’s investigators have completed their work on the scene and they are now doing some follow up with documents and putting together statements. The report will be completed by the investigators and then forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office. He said the explosion site is being treated as a crime scene in the fact that the area is cordoned off so only the proper authorities are allowed into the area. The Door County Sheriff described what is happening with the paper work.

Door County District Attorney Ray Pelrine was in Ellison Bay twice to take a look at the scene, according to Vogel. Pelrine has not seen the reports or made any determinations and Vogel says it is ultimately the District Attorney’s decision if he wants to look deeper into gross negligence possibilities.

Read the rest of this entry »

From startribune.com

ELLISON BAY, Wis. — The Door County Sheriff said it was five blasts, not three, that rocked a resort town earlier this month and investigators haven’t ruled out a criminal act as the cause.

Sheriff Terry Vogel also said this week that 12 people were injured, besides the Michigan couple that was killed, when the blasts rocked the resort town of Ellison Bay on July 10.

Authorities had remained tightlipped while investigating the explosions but this week revealed more information now that the physical part of the investigation is over.

Vogel said though early reports dismissed the idea that the explosions had been intentionally set off, investigators are leaving open the possibility of criminal culpability.

“There’s a number of options for crime, which can be a malicious act or a great degree of negligence,” he said. “Those things have to be determined yet, and it’s going to be weeks or months before the district attorney makes a determination.”

Read the rest of this entry »

From doorcountydailynews.com

by Karen Klement

Last week was a very emotional time for many people both in Ellison Bay and across the nation. Lives were lost and historic landmarks are gone but the Ellison Bay community is pulling together to get things back to normal. Owner of the Turtle Ridge Gallery Mary Ellen Sisulak says while some may be grieving the loss of lives, Ellison Bay residents are also grieving the loss of their beloved Pioneer Store. Although this small community has suffered during the last few days, Sisulak hopes people will realize that today’s Ellison Bay is the same place that everyone knows and loves. She hopes last week’s accident will not scare people away from this safe and beautiful place.

Read the rest of this entry »

From doorcountydailynews.com

by Nick Freimuth

All of the businesses surrounding the explosion site in Ellison Bay are now open, traffic is flowing through the village on Highway 42, and the Pioneer Store has been demolished. Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said a lot of travelers are stopping to take pictures and ask questions. He asks that people do not interrupt traffic by slowing down. Reserve officers are still at the scene regulating traffic flow and making sure no one tries to enter the fenced off area.

The Door County Sheriff’s Department along with a number of other agencies spent a tremendous amount of time directing traffic and assisting with evacuations throughout the disaster relief effort. A lot of overtime was worked and there are many wondering what this will do to the budget concerns. Vogel is hoping that the state will assist the agencies that were involved in the tragedy.

The Sheriff’s Department has been working with representatives on the County Board and Vogel believes they realize the enormity of the situation. The Sheriff said he would try to work within their budget and do the best job he can in dealing with overtime pay and other unbudgeted costs. The budget concerns are not viewed as an issue, according to Vogel. He said with the loss of two lives, 12 injuries, and an evacuation of an entire village this was an enormous undertaking.

Cedar Grove Resort and The Pioneer Store are still completely fenced in. The Sheriff is extremely pleased with the all first responders, fire fighters, police officers, and emergency medical responders. Terry Vogel said this county has done the best job possible considering the circumstances. He believes the most gratifying thing is that once the initial explosion occurred there were no further injuries.

Original Article from WBAY.COM

ELLISON BAY, Wis. The grocery store heavily damaged in the fatal explosion last week in Ellison Bay will be torn down tomorrow.

Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said today the demolition could take a day and a half, then the main thoroughfare, Highway 42, may reopen.

The highway near the site where three building exploded has been closed since July tenth.

Patrick Higdon and Margaret Brooks Higdon died when their cottage at Cedar Grove Resort exploded and caught fire.

Investigators determined that a severed liquid propane pipeline was to blame for the explosion.

About a half dozen people remain evacuated.

Ellison Bay copes with disruption; Normal life on hold while explosion investigation continues

By Paul Srubas, Green Bay Press Gazette

ELLISON BAY — Its comparative quietness traditionally has set Ellison Bay apart from many other Door County communities.

Although every bit a bustling resort town, it typically doesn’t experience the crush of tourist traffic that you’d find on a July day in some of the more southern communities along Wisconsin 42, the western shoreline forming the inside edge of the “thumb” of the Door County peninsula.

“We’ve been coming here for 36 years,” said Alfred Hantke of Menomonee Falls. “We like Ellison Bay because it’s quieter than Fish Creek and the others.”

But since propane gas explosions destroyed three buildings, killed two people and injured several others in the heart of Ellison Bay early Monday morning, the community is finding itself more “set apart” from its neighbors than ever before.

Wooden barricades and a spider web of police caution tape segregated the community’s downtown district all week as police, fire and now insurance investigators probe for a cause and source of the blasts. The happy parade of pedestrian tourists that slow traffic in places like Fish Creek or even nearby Sister Bay is nonexistent in downtown Ellison Bay, which appears to be abandoned except for the array of public safety and heavy equipment operators that have been working the accident scene. The most bustling part of town has been the sheriff’s department command center, a trailer equipped with a satellite dish, fax machines and other gear, parked at the corner of Wisconsin 42 and Mink River Basin Road.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Paige Funkhouser, Door County Advocate

…The propane line was capped to keep it from leaking any more gas; crews on the scene worked Thursday to ventilate lingering propane pockets in the ground.

Gas levels were still being monitored Friday by emergency service crews within the cordoned-off area. Homeowners and most business owners were allowed back into their buildings Friday, with the exception of The Viking Grill, Caxton Bookstore and the Marathon gas station.

Visitors and local traffic can access the downtown Ellison Bay businesses on the highway up to the Mink River Basin Supper Club or on Mink River Basin Road.

A short detour around Ellison Bay has been set up by the Door County Sheriff’s Department and allows vehicles to safely navigate around the closed section of State 42. The approximately three-mile detour, which allows traffic to continue on to Gills Rock and Washington Island on State 42 north of Ellison Bay, will remain in place until county officials are able to reopen the short stretch that is closed in downtown Ellison Bay.

By Emily Matesic, WBAY-TV, Original Article at WBAY.COM

Saturday was the first time Governor Doyle saw the destruction of Monday’s explosions in Ellison Bay.

Two people were killed and several were injured.

The governor says he’s is ready to lend the state’s helping hand.

After arriving in Ellison Bay, the governor met with Carol Newman, the owner of the Pioneer Store.

Ellison Bay’s only grocery store was one of the three buildings damaged in Monday’s explosions.

Along with the Door County Sheriff, local firefighters and other volunteers, Governor Doyle toured the blast zone.

While he said the destruction was almost unbelieveable the governor didn’t have the victims of this tragedy far from his mind.

Read the rest of this entry »

ASSOCIATED PRESS story, courtesy WBAY.COM

(AP) ELLISON BAY, Wis. The business community in Ellison Bay is even more isolated after propane gas explosions killed two people and injured several more earlier this week.

Business officials think tourists apparently have been avoiding the area all together, even though many are not barricaded off by investigators.

It’s caused a ripple effect to Gills Rock.

Lynn Hass — owner of Hedgehog Gifts in Gills Rock — says she should be at her peak right now but instead is down about 30 percent.

Instead, in her words — “People see the road is closed and they turn around and go home.”

Brian Linden, a co-owner of Linden Gallery, says they’ll make it through the hardships.

Linden says he doesn’t believe it’s really “lost business.”

Instead, he says it’s “just postponed.”

By Paige Funkhouser, Door County Advocate

Liberty Grove town supervisors met Friday afternoon with town attorney Jack Bruce and an insurance investigator for the Cedar Grove Resort, Mark Harrison of General Casualty Insurance, to discuss and approve razing the Pioneer Store.

The town also plans to install a perimeter fence around the Cedar Grove Resort properties to maintain the integrity of the explosion sites for insurance investigations. Harrison said his job is to represent the Cedar Grove Resort and its owners, the Harold Smith family, to coordinate the insurance investigators’ efforts, establish damages and reach a settlement with the party that severed the gas pipe.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Paige Funkhouser, Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

ELLISON BAY — Efforts by local politicians to secure funding for the Ellison Bay disaster brought Gov. Jim Doyle to this unincorporated hamlet Saturday morning for a tour of the explosion sites. His delay to the disaster site was because of a busy schedule — meeting with soldiers in Mississippi en route to Iraq Friday — and to give time for local investigators to finish their work, Doyle told reporters.

“Everybody is clearly aware of the tourism season, and they’re working to get the businesses open,” Doyle said. “But their first concern is safety.”

Local business owners and residents turned out to shake hands with the governor; he also made rounds to thank the emergency responders and American Red Cross volunteers on scene. Doyle met with Pioneer Store owner Carol Newman to hear her story of escaping from the building and commiserate her loss.

“This place has a lot of memories for a lot of people,” Newman told Doyle. “We used to haul ice to all of the cottages around here.”

“I feel like I knew this place,” Doyle told Newman, “I’ve been by here so many times. Who would’ve ever thought something like this would happen in Ellison Bay?”

Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, and Sen. Alan Lasee, R-Rockland, said they collectively sent a letter to Doyle, requesting that he visit Ellison Bay.

“This was a good step in getting the state’s help,” Bies said.

Funds are available for Liberty Grove to assist the town in paying for unbudgeted items such as overtime pay for personnel in the Door County Sheriff’s Department and the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department. There’s also a possibility the town could apply for grants from the Department of Commerce to aid local businesses in costs not covered by insurance.

Lasee said he couldn’t speculate about how much the town or business owners would get from the state.

“It’s a tough call, as the state’s not in the habit of handing out money to businesses,” Lasee said.

Emergency response from the local firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police officers to the disaster happened exactly as it should have, Bies said, who worked 30 years with the Door County Sheriff’s Department.

“They did everything we planned for, for the years while I was in the department,” he said.

Original Article with photo.

AP Story courtesy Duluth News Tribune

ELLISON BAY, Wis. – The tiny resort town that forms the inside edge of the “thumb” of the Door County peninsula doesn’t experience the same tourist traffic elsewhere in the area.

Now the business community is even more isolated after propane gas explosions killed two people and injured several more last Monday.

Investigators are continuing to look for the cause and source of the blast, and drivers can’t use the closed road that winds through downtown.

But Gov. Jim Doyle toured the site on Saturday and said the state was ready to lend a hand.

“The property damage will be rebuilt and we’ll work through to get all of that done but we really, really are thinking and praying for the family of those who have died and those who were injured,” Doyle said.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘Little town’ disaster touches many lives; Visitors, former residents express shock over events

By Kelly McBride, Green Bay Press Gazette

After the initial shock of the explosion Monday in Ellison Bay, Denise Noble had an unsettling realization.

“If it had been a week later, that would’ve been our cabin,” the Waupaca woman said. “I called my sister. She didn’t believe me, so she got online. … (She said) did you know that was your duplex — where you guys stayed?”

Read the rest of this entry »

By Paige Funkhouser, Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers / Original story appeared in Green Bay Press Gazette

Anyone wishing to donate to the Ellison Bay disaster or to the American Red Cross can send donations to the American Red Cross, Lakeland Chapter. Make out a check and send it to the American Red Cross, Lakeland Chapter at P.O. Box 8295, Green Bay, WI 54308-8295.

ELLISON BAY — Emergency response from the American Red Cross to the Ellison Bay explosions rivaled that of the Egg Harbor tornado in 1996, said Judy Gregory, emergency services director of the Lakeland Chapter.

“Those first 12 hours are so intense that it’s hard to take a step back and take an overview of the situation,” Gregory said Friday.

“After we determine how long the situation is going to go on, we can prepare for that.”

As of Friday, the Red Cross had 20 active volunteers and staff members in downtown Ellison Bay manning their emergency response vehicle, acting as a contact point for residents and business owners to address any needs they had and keeping the emergency crews fed and watered.

“We’ve been feeding 150 people three times a day,” Gregory said. “We’re still in a volatile, changing situation, so we can’t get into recovery mode, yet. As a chapter, we have to be prepared to maintain on our own for three days.”

Recovery mode, Gregory explained, is when families know they can get back into their homes and the need for 150 emergency workers has ceased.

“We pull out when the needs of the community can be handled back in our satellite office in Sturgeon Bay,” Gregory said.

The Red Cross emergency response process started at 3 a.m. Monday with Gregory verifying the situation after receiving a call from one of her volunteers, who is also a first responder in the town of Sevastopol.

“I call my lead person to notify them of a serious situation and to start getting people activated,” Gregory explained, “then I call our executive director.

“We set up a gathering place for people to meet. This time, we gathered at the (Ellison Bay) firehouse. We had family service workers, mental health professionals there. We gathered lists of available hotel rooms, gathered supplies to support the people we had. And we brought in food and water for those emergency workers who’d arrived on scene.”

The volunteers’ efforts continued through the next four days, as volunteers from surrounding chapters arrived to provide relief and food and water.

Local restaurants and stores also supplemented the Red Cross’ food and drink supplies, Gregory said.

The difference between the Ellison Bay explosions and the Egg Harbor tornado, Gregory explained, was the uncertainty.

“This wasn’t like the tornado that came and was over,” Gregory said. “We couldn’t identify until (Thursday) what the source of the disaster was. That’s hard for planning. ”

Financial donations are needed more than anything, Gregory said, and can help with the Ellison Bay disaster and any future emergencies.

Wisconsin 42 to stay closed at site of explosions; Building demolition planned for next week

By Paige Funkhouser, Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers / Original story appeared in Green Bay Press Gazette

ELLISON BAY — Wisconsin 42 will remain closed this weekend as investigators continue to monitor gas levels after explosions Monday that killed a Michigan couple and injured seven people.

Demolition of the historic Pioneer Store, one of three buildings at the Cedar Grove Resort that were destroyed when gas ignited around 2:30 a.m. Monday, still is needed before the highway can open, officials say. Investigators blamed the explosions on propane after finding a severed gas line.

“The possibility of opening State 42 is not in the town’s best interest” this weekend, Liberty Grove Town Chairman Charlie Most said, “with the gapers’ block it would cause. And I would hate to see any looting of the store.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Ellison Bay Building To Be Razed Next Week; Highway 42 to be reopened next week

WFRV-TV (Original story with photos here)

(WFRV) ELLISON BAY, Wis. The Liberty Grove Town Board held a special emergency board meeting Friday afternoon regarding the Ellison Bay disaster.

A severed underground liquid propane line caused Monday’s explosions that killed two vacationers, injured seven others, wrecked three buildings and virtually closed down this tiny tourist town in Door County.

The town board has decided to fence-in the Cedar Grove Resort, where two of the three buildings are located, while the investigation continues.

The town will also demolish the third building that was wrecked, the historic Pioneer Store, possibly on Tuesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘It looked like a war zone’; Emergency personnel describe scene of blasts during response

By Deb Fitzgerald, Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers / Original article appeared in Green Bay Press Gazette

ELLISON BAY — Julie Williams has been a paramedic for 10 years. Bob Landeck, a paramedic for 27. But neither their experience nor the 2:30 a.m. dispatch call Monday describing multiple explosions and injuries prepared them for the gravity of the event they were about to deal with.

Williams, 34, and Landeck, 57, were the first emergency personnel to arrive on the scene from the North Ambulance Center at the Sister Bay fire station early Monday, when three explosions in Ellison Bay claimed two lives and caused seven injuries.

“It wasn’t even a thought in my mind that it was going to be serious,” Williams said. “I know that sounds terrible, but you just never expect that.”

The paramedics listened to radio dispatches while traveling about eight miles to Ellison Bay. They learned the Pioneer Store had been leveled; they learned that people were injured.

“That will get your adrenaline up a little bit,” Landeck said.

“Then we came to the top of the (Ellison Bay) hill and saw the flames shooting above the trees, and both of us simultaneously said, ‘Holy crap,’” Williams said.

The moment was so intense, Williams couldn’t think of a radio code that adequately described what they were witnessing.

“10-33 is emergency, but that didn’t do it,” Williams said. “So I said, ‘It’s really, really bad,’ because that’s all I could think of at the time.

“It looked like a war zone. There was glass and debris everywhere. All you saw was flames and smoke and people yelling; the only smell I remember is burnt flesh and hair. It was just insane.”

Read the rest of this entry »

AP Story, courtesy The Mining Journal

ELLISON BAY, Wis. (AP) — For a second time this week, people were allowed to return to their homes following the deadly explosions from a liquid propane leak of an underground line, authorities said Friday.

Door County Chief Deputy Sheriff Gary Behling said monitors indicated that levels of propane gas were decreasing, allowing authorities to lift some of the restrictions on access to the tiny village.

Most businesses reopened and electrical power was restored to all but the Cedar Grove Resort, where two of the three explosions occurred about 2:30 a.m. Monday, he said.

Read the rest of this entry »

WBAY-TV, original story here.

One of the survivors of Monday’s explosions has been released from the hospital.

According to a representative from the Higdon’s church in Michigan, Jim Brooks has been released from St. Vincent Hospital. He is the father of Peggy Higdon, who died with her husband Patrick in the explosion.

Brooks’s wife Margery remains hospitalized. She faces several months of rehabilitation.

Paco Higdon has been transported to University of Michigan Children’s Hospital for further facial surgeries.

His sister Megan is still recovering from her surgery and will hopefully be released from the hospital soon.

Funeral plans for Patric and Peggy Higdon have not yet been made.

Northern Door still accessible after disaster; Ellison Bay detour only about 3 miles, tourism official says

Press Gazette

If you were planning a trip to Gill’s [sic] Rock or Washington Island this weekend, don’t let news of the Ellison Bay disaster put you off your game.

“Obviously it’s a concern of ours that people think (Wisconsin) 42 is closed from Ellison Bay north, which is not the case,” said Jon Jarosh, marketing director for the Door County Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve done all we can to let people know in fact there’s a short detour around the closed portion of 42, and it’s only about 3 miles — just a couple of minutes.”

While a handful of businesses in the immediate downtown Ellison Bay area have been closed since Monday, most businesses in Ellison Bay remain open, the chamber reports on its Web site, www.doorcounty.com.

Businesses, attractions and services north of Ellison Bay are all open, accessible and operating as usual, the Web site says.

If you’re heading north, take Wisconsin 42 toward Ellison Bay, turn right onto Highview Road, travel east about 1.25 miles, turn left onto Lakeview Road and head north for about 1.5 miles back to Wisconsin 42, which will take you north for the rest of the trip.

(WFRV – Original Article.) ELLISON BAY, Wis. A severed propane line is now being blamed for causing the explosion in Door County that killed a Michigan couple and destroyed three buildings.

Sheriff Terry Vogel says it appears liquid propane caused the explosion in Ellison Bay early Monday morning. Vogel says they’ve capped off the leak and continue to monitor the gas levels in the area. Authorities did not detect dangerous gasses on Monday and Tuesday, but a resurgence of explosive gasses on Wednesday sent investigators back into the evacuation zone to search for the source.

WPS spokesman Kerry Spees says a contractor for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. worked in the area late last week burying some electrical cable.

Read the rest of this entry »

Original article courtesy WBAY-TV 

State fire marshals and local authorities are using 911 calls the morning of the explosions in Ellison Bay to help them figure out what happened.

Today, the Door County Sheriff’s Department released those 911 calls from Monday night, when two buildings on the Cedar Grove Resort and the Pioneer Store exploded.

The first calls came in at about 2-30 a.m. [sic]

——————————-

Dispatch: “9-1-1 what’s the address of your emergency?”

Caller: “Yeah, it looks like the Cedar Grove Resort in Ellison Bay has a major fire. It looks like there’s been an explosion.  There are flames shooting out of the building right now.”

——————————-

Caller: “A cabin’s on fire. I think it was struck by lightning. I don’t know but people are screaming, probably people hurt. There was a big explosion.”

Dispatcher: “Okay, you say this is at the cedar grove resort?”

Caller: “Yeah.”

Dispatcher: “Okay, we just got a call that it was the Pioneer Store but you’re sure it’s the Cedar Grove Resort?”

Caller: “Yes, it’s definitely the Cedar Grove Resort.”

——————————-

Read the rest of this entry »

Visit AP story “Ellison Bay Store Owner Shaken By Explosion,” see video on right-hand side.

By Paige Funkhouser, Gannett/Green Bay Press Gazette (Click for Original Story)

ELLISON BAY — The explosions that rocked three Ellison Bay buildings early Monday were “like being at Universal Studios on the earthquake ride,” said Carol Newman, who walked out of the Pioneer Store virtually unharmed.

“I didn’t know when it was going to quit. And I thought, ‘I’ve got to get out of here,’” said Newman, 68, who was sleeping in her living quarters on the second floor toward the back of the building.

“When the shaking settled down, I heard screaming and hollering coming from down the street. I got up and there were people there who helped me out of the window. First responders, firefighters, I don’t know. After that point, I don’t remember anything else.”

… The first floor walls of the Pioneer Store blew out sideways. DVD cases, rubber balls and boxes of bandages flew into the street, and the explosion sent the second floor crashing to street level. The only thing that kept Newman’s bedroom and the rear of the second story from falling to street level were food freezers in the back of the store.

Full Story Here.

(Click for video from WBAY)

There’s a massive setback tonight in the effort to reopen Ellison Bay.

“We began detecting some carbon monoxide and eventually some gases that are of the explosive nature,” said Door County Sheriff, Terry Vogel.

Investigators discovered the high levels of gasses late Tuesday night.

It’s the same area where several explosions early Monday morning destroyed three buildings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wisconsin 42 to remain closed until buildings are razed

By Paul Srubas, Green Bay Press Gazette (Click for Full Story)

ELLISON BAY — A quarter-mile stretch of Ellison Bay remains barricaded this morning as investigators probe the rubble of three buildings brought down by explosions or fire early Monday…..

Passage on Wisconsin 42 through Ellison Bay and access to several businesses and residences will remain closed at least until construction crews can tear down the landmark Pioneer Store, a 136-year-old building on Wisconsin 42 that collapsed, leaving its second story and roof teetering on the remains of the rest of the structure.

The owner, Carol Newman, 68, was sleeping in the second story when the building collapsed but managed to escape with minor injuries with the help of emergency service workers shortly after the blast.

A hastily called meeting of the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Commission — held Tuesday evening in the dead center of Wisconsin 42 — granted Fire Chief Chris Hecht authority to order the razing of two structures still barely standing after Monday morning’s blast. The other building is a combination workshop and rental apartments that is part of the Cedar Grove Resort complex.

Razing the remaining structures means more than just the re-opening of Ellison Bay commerce; it also will provide investigators with their first chance to examine the insides of the buildings, the remains of which are too rickety to allow entrance, Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said Tuesday.

“We can’t get close for fear of the building collapsing,” he said. “It’s continuing to creak and crack — there’s a lot of movement.”

Click for Full Story.

Isaacson, family were sleeping near destroyed home where 2 died

By Paul Srubas, Green Bay Press Gazette (Click for Full Story)

Erin Isaacson can’t get the sounds of the screams out of her head.

Isaacson, 23, and her husband, who live in both Ellison Bay and Green Bay, were the first neighbors on the scene when explosions caused a duplex to burn and two nearby buildings to collapse early Monday. Two people died and several people were injured in the duplex fire.

Two explosions were so loud and so close, Erin Isaacson awakened thinking they had happened in her parents’ condominium, where she and her husband, her parents and grandparents were staying. Their condominium is about 50 yards from the destroyed duplex.

“It shook our house. I saw the walls move. I thought it was our house — it sounded like a bomb in our house,” Isaacson said Tuesday. “I thought we would find that a tree came through.”

Erin and Andy Isaacson ran out barefooted and in their pajamas to investigate, she said. They immediately smelled the smoke and heard screaming.

“I’ll never forget the screams,” Isaacson said. “I’ve just been sick. I thought I was going to throw up.”

When they approached the back door of the duplex, they saw three people, apparently injured, lying in the grass, and a girl running and screaming for her mother.

Click for Full Story.

Ellison Bay closure goes on as more gas is found; Evacuation rules tightened

by Linda Spice, original article at Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Jon Bastian had finally gotten his first decent night of sleep since the deadly explosion that rattled Ellison Bay on Monday – until a morning knock by anxious authorities on Wednesday telling him to get out of his home.

“They said, ‘Get out now.’ It was, ‘Don’t think. Do it.’ I just grabbed a handful of shirts and got out of there,” he said after firefighters awakened him about 8 a.m.

Emergency officials monitoring the area took precautions Wednesday after they detected high levels of potentially explosive propane gas. The cause of Monday’s explosion is not yet known, but officials are investigating whether a private contractor working for the local power company may have accidentally hit a privately owned propane pipeline during a job last week.

Read the rest of this entry »