Nearly every property in Cascade in Sheboygan Co. damaged by storms; woman lost dog to stress

CASCADE -- Sheboygan County was one of three where tornado warnings were issued as severe storms pushed through on Tuesday, Aug. 28 -- and the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touchdown in the Town of Wilson.

In Cascade, there were no injuries, but nearly every property in the 700-person town was damaged.

Once a haven for horses, FOX6 found Sheryl Kress-Griffin's nonprofit "Touching Smiles Equine Rescue and Therapy" in need of rescue itself on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

"(The horses) have either been abused neglected or surrendered. You see we lost the shelters, and the trees are just completely gone," said Kress-Griffin.

Severe weather wreaked havoc on the 10-acre farm in Cascade.

"I'm guessing that the season is going to be a loss," said Kress-Griffin.

In town, it was more of the same. The police chief said approximately 50 homes and vehicles were damaged by fallen limbs and power was out across the area.

"The amount of damage I've seen in just this small village is the worst I've seen," said Jason Liermann, Cascade police chief.

Cleanup was underway Wednesday, with hundreds of neighbors volunteering, and emergency responders from the surrounding area pitching in -- whether it was to remove debris or make meals for those out in the field.

"They're helping each other out, which is all you can ask for in circumstances like this. If it wasn't for (the volunteers), we'd still be digging out and we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are today. Could've been a lot worse. It really could have," said Liermann.

While all of Kress-Griffin's animals escaped injury, her bulldog in the house didn't make it, likely suffering a stroke from the sheer stress of the storm.

"I don't know how, because there was stuff falling everywhere. I could handle all this, but losing my dog is killer," said Kress-Griffin.

A Facebook fundraiser has been set up for Kress-Griffin's farm.

The strong wind knocked over an ages-old pine tree, which fell onto Joe Niedzialkowski's church-turned-home.

"He said it was like nothing he'd ever heard, like one big, long, extended thunder. You can see the tree is on the chimney. It smacked right into the chimney," said Niedzialkowski.

Suddenly, Niedzialkowski, an artist, had a new project to work on.

"Called up her brothers and sisters and was like, 'I need help -- need help,' so a bunch of people came over. The next challenge is going to be how to get back to work, and continue working with the disorganization that's going on," said Niedzialkowski.

Even with the water and roof damage, their home was mostly in tact, and no one was hurt, which was certainly good news.

"It'll be an inconvenience, certainly, to have to deal with having the life upset, but no one was hurt, so it could have been worse," said Niedzialkowski.

Sheboygan County Emergency Management and Sheboygan County Division of Public Health officials opened a volunteer reception center at Cascade Village Park near Milwaukee and West Water to assist with debris removal and serve as a central location to sign up for volunteer opportunities.

The other two confirmed tornado touchdowns Tuesday happened in Brownsville in Dodge County and Alto/Brandon in Fond du Lac County.