WEYAUWEGA, Wis (NBC 26) -- 25 years ago today, a community of nearly 3,000 was forced to evacuate after a train derailment threatened homes, businesses, even lives. Tonight, NBC26 takes us back to that day to remember how close so many were to losing it all.
In the tight-knit community of Weyauwega, with a population today of just over 2,000 residents, it's hard to forget about the life-changing event that literally shook the city.
"You could see the big flames and the flashes of fire. The smoke you could see way out in the country four to five miles away,"says Marietta Paap of the Weyauwega Area Historical Society.
It's been 25 years since the Weyauwega train derailment. That's when box cars and tankers loaded with hazardous materials and gas went off of the tracks causing multiple fires in several locations. But on top of that, it also caused a huge concern for the community and first responders.
"So they went up and down the streets telling everyone to evacuate. Everybody had to leave their homes, and they thought for an hour, two hours, maybe half a day at the most," adds Paap.
Historian Paap experienced it all first-hand, but to her surprise and the surprise of others, the evacuation would be a lengthy one.
"It wasn't until that afternoon when my husband called me and said this is going to be more than just a day," says Susan Stelzner a mom of three young children at the time who is married to local firefighter.
The evacuation of the community would ultimately last for nearly 3 weeks. The tedious process of putting out the flames had to be handled delicately by emergency crews to avoid any potential additional damage or harm to the community.
"If they did it wrong or too fast it would take the town out," says Paap.
Not knowing what their community would look like when they returned from their evacuation was the biggest fear for many.
"You didn't know if your house was going to be there or if your school or business was going to be there," adds Paap.
Fortunately, no one was injured and no one died as a result of the derailment and the greatest loss to the community was the destruction of some buildings and water damage to others.
"It could have been way worse. We could have been a crater on the earth. But we're not we're still here as a community," adds Stelzner.
But collectively many folks in town learned something through the shared experience and even 25 years later the memories are still reflected on.
"In a way, it brought us together. Because we experienced the same things and everybody was so happy to see each other safe and sound afterward," says Paap.
