Trees are still down on Monday, Aug. 3, one week after the tornado devastated Menasha. Aug., 3, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Menasha Common Council approved a local state of disaster in light of the widespread damage still evident a week after the EF-3 tornado touched down.
“My family and I are doing what hundreds of other households are doing right now — living out of bags, sorting debris,” said Menasha District 1 Alder Chris Rand. “The resolutions in front of us are part of how the city gets back up.”
The disaster declaration allows the mayor and city staff to make decisions of up to $615,000, covering costs like workers’ overtime pay and extra fuel. The city will also need to make repairs to city facilities.
The declaration speeds up the process since these decisions won’t require council approval.
“[It’s] to make sure we’re serving our residents as quickly as we can,” said Mayor Menasha Austin Hammond. “Getting people the help that they need as quickly as we can, and making sure that we’re clearing the roads and getting emergency management out to folks promptly.”
The city also decided to waive the bidding process for tree and debris removal. Typically, the city would put out bids for its contracted services, which would take weeks. Menasha doesn’t have weeks to clear the roads.
Two of the main challenges right now are cleaning up as quickly as possible and doing so in as fiscally responsible a way as possible.
“The hope is to unlock some of those disaster relief funds, whether it’s FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) or state aid to help reimburse some of that,” said Hammond. “And then… we’re going to work to reallocate funding for different things as needed so it isn’t an additional cost.”
The path ahead is long, but Menasha hopes to walk that path as quickly as it can.
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