THE DAMAGED BARN and other buildings at the Jeff and Tammy Kiser farm in Faithorn Township after severe storms barreled through Menominee County on Wednesday evening. The farm’s chicken coop was ripped up as well, yet all of their 21 chickens survived, Tammy Kiser said. (Submitted photo)

Some residents were still without power and cleaning up Thursday after severe storms swept through the region Wednesday night.

The Faithorn area in Menominee County was particularly hard hit, with trees mowed down over a 1- to 2-mile, 100- to 200-yard-wide stretch around the township cemetery and Michigan Department of Natural Resources fishing site to about a mile from the Longbranch Saloon, said Bill DeVoe, chief of the Faithorn Township Volunteer Fire Department and a township trustee.

The farm of Jeff and Tammy Kiser at N15847 Gustafson Road had substantial damage, with a barn, chicken coop and vehicle considered a total loss, Tammy Kiser said.

She said the storm came so quickly she was only able to get to the bottom of her garage steps, taking shelter behind a gun cabinet.

But even with the destruction to the barn and coop, she said only two ducks perished in the storm. Her 21 chickens were left dirty and soaked but alive — one hen stayed on her eggs even as the roof was torn off — and the horses and pigs all emerged uninjured, Tammy Kiser said.

A VEHICLE BATTERED and dented by debris during Wednesday’s storm at Jeff and Tammy Kiser’s farm in Faithorn Township. (Submitted photo)

Thursday, “so much help” arrived that the farm was fairly cleared of debris, except for a couple of toppled trees.

No human injuries were reported from the storm, said DeVoe, who was out of town Wednesday and spent much of Thursday touring the area.

Electricity had not been restored as of Thursday night. The township hall, running on a generator, was opened for residents to get water and charge electronic devices. DeVoe had been told it might happen by 1 a.m. today, but most residents expected the wait to be longer.

Jeff Gagne, the fire department’s training officer and the incident commander Wednesday night, said the storm’s path could be clearly seen as it crossed from Wisconsin into Menominee County.

Large trees came down on two other homes in the township and another farm had substantial damage to the house and barn but both were unoccupied, Gagne said.

SOME OF THE trees toppled in the Faithhorn area after a severe storm went through Wednesday evening. (Submitted photo)

He also heard Hermansville was dealing with the aftermath of the storm. A National Weather Service official visited the area Thursday, but neither DeVoe nor Gagne knew if a tornado had been confirmed.

In Wisconsin’s Marinette County, the town of Silver Cliff reportedly had extensive damage from what was believed to be a tornado Wednesday night.

Power outages were extensive in the Marinette County towns of Dunbar, Beecher and Pembine. As of 9 p.m. Thursday, Wisconsin Public Service reported 768 customers out in Dunbar, 595 in Beecher and 660 in Pembine, representing well over half the locations served.

Across the county, 5,532 customers were still without power Thursday night, about 17% of those in its county territory, WPS said.

We Energies as of 9 p.m. Thursday listed 181 outages in Iron County, 83 in Dickinson County, 554 in Menominee County and 473 in Wisconsin’s Florence County, along with 97 in Marinette County.

Communities around the Fox Valley and Green Bay were among those hardest hit by the storms and should be prepared for a multi-day restoration effort, We Energies said.

We Energies and WPS crews are finding substantial damage, as there have been more than 1,000 reports of downed trees, snapped power lines, broken utility poles and trees falling into equipment, the companies said in a news release. Crews from both companies also are encountering roads blocked by the damage.

All available crews, including workers from across the Midwest, will be working around the clock to repair the outages caused by these severe storms, the power companies said.

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