As the mercury rose and extreme heat bore down on Wisconsin, Milwaukee County and its environs grappled with a compounded crisis as strong winds triggered widespread power outages. According to JSOnline, a heat index of 100 degrees pushed the National Weather Service to issue an extreme heat warning for Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha, lasting until Monday. Under this oppressive heat, We Energies reported that as of 7 p.m. June 21, there were 8,887 people without power in Milwaukee and 15,280 in the larger Milwaukee County area.
The situation was exacerbated by wind gusts strong enough to down limbs and trees, interfering with electrical infrastructure. We Energies' outage map reflected a loss of power for 16,790 customers, including 12,718 in Milwaukee, as they noted in an update. We Energies' spokesperson Brendan Conway, in a statement obtained by WISN 12 News, highlighted the efforts being taken to restore power: "We have crews responding to all calls, and they are working as quickly and safely as possible to get power restored."
In light of the outages and continued heat, We Energies encouraged customers to utilize their app or the online outage map to get the latest update on their outage. Residents were also given a stern reminder to maintain a distance of at least 25 feet from downed power lines and to report any such instances to the appropriate authorities.
Community resilience surfaced as locals sought reprieve from the heat. TMJ4 captured the plight and resourcefulness of Milwaukee residents like Mateo Gomez who said, "You can really tell the difference inside the house today versus outside." To cool down, Gomez, along with neighbors, took to using a slip-and-slide and running a sprinklers, setting an example of camaraderie in the face of adversity.
