OUR PLACE
The Fourth of July weekend is done, and it looked like everyone came to Lake Geneva to celebrate.
Big Foot State Park was filled to capacity on the Fourth of July. This is not the first time, and it won’t be the last. Lake Geneva can get very busy on summer weekends but then you throw a holiday and beautiful weather on it and it’s a recipe for stand-still traffic, parking filled to its limit, and some areas shut down due to overcapacity.
If this is a problem now what will it look like during the Highway 50 reconstruction project? Locals are well aware of what to expect on this summer holiday and many choose to avoid it. If they do venture through the crowds of visitors, patience, and kindness are what get them through safely. This is good practice on all busy days in Lake Geneva.
A house in Elkhorn explodes with one man inside.
Calls to 911 reported the explosion at about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 2nd. Sheriff’s deputies arrived about 15 minutes later and saw that the house was completely destroyed, the sheriff’s office said. As soon as the sheriff’s deputies arrived, they began to search for survivors and secured the area until the arrival of fire and rescue personnel. Officials said there was a small fire in the basement of what was left of the structure when crews arrived, and the man could be heard in the basement.
It took 30 to 40 minutes for firefighters to get to the man, who was rescued from the basement of the house. The man was taken to the hospital by helicopter, according to Elkhorn Fire Chief Trent Eichmann. He was flown by Flight for Life to a local trauma center for treatment. Preliminary information suggests that the incident may have been a propane gas explosion. People in town who live as far as 12 miles away tell us they also felt their homes shake. Neighbors said it felt like a bomb went off and a wide cloud of smoke appeared.
This has made the mood quiet and somber in this neighborhood, during this 4th of July holiday week. Heavy equipment has been brought to the home as people sort through the debris. The 68-year-old man, Leland Holden, died at the trauma center he was being treated at. The announcement came a day after Holden was found under the rubble of what had been his home, authorities said. Our condolences go out to all of his family and friends.
