Team Rubicon has launched a disaster relief operation in eastern Wisconsin following a series of severe storms, and a confirmed EF3 tornado that caused widespread destruction across the Fox Cities region on July 27.
Beginning July 30, Team Rubicon began deploying Greyshirt volunteers to the Appleton area to help homeowners begin the recovery process. The Wisconsin tornado recovery operation is expected to run through August 13.
Greyshirts will provide critical recovery services, including roof tarping, chainsaw operations, and general debris removal to address unmet needs in communities impacted by the storms.
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least one EF3 tornado touched down near Appleton and Menasha, carving a path approximately four miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. The tornado, along with destructive straight-line winds, large hail, and widespread power outages, caused significant damage across the region. Local officials estimate that between 600 and 700 homes were affected.
In addition to structural damage, the storms disrupted public utilities, including power and water systems, leaving many residents facing a lengthy recovery.
Team Rubicon’s Wisconsin tornado recovery will focus on helping residents complete labor-intensive work that can prevent additional damage and speed the recovery process. Roof tarping helps protect homes from further exposure to rain, while chainsaw work and debris removal clear hazardous trees and storm debris from residential properties.
As communities across eastern Wisconsin begin rebuilding after the devastating storms, Team Rubicon’s Greyshirts will work alongside local officials and community partners to help residents recover safely and return home as quickly as possible.
The Wisconsin tornado recovery operation is in addition to Team Rubicon’s current flood recovery operations in Texas. Since July 21, Greyshirts have been deployed in Kerrville, Sonora, and Uvalde helping residents there recover from devastating flooding that hit Central, West, and Southwest Texas in mid-July. So much work existed in the Kerrville area that that flooding recovery operation has extended until August 11.
