Kenosha County Board Chairman Joe Clark declared a local state of emergency Saturday as damage reports piled up behind the deluge of water and tornado that fell upon the county Friday.

Reports of flooded basements have streamed in from the western side of Kenosha southeast to Pleasant Prairie’s Lake Michigan shore.

Butch Turney, who lives in the 8400 block of 65th Place, said almost every driveway in his Leona’s Rolling Meadows neighborhood was sporting a pile of wet carpet, furniture or other debris hauled up from basements soaked with flood water or sewage.

“Almost every house — probably 80, probably more — got flooded out,” Turney said. “We’ve got insurance companies telling people, ‘We’ll see you in three days.’ You can’t do that. You can’t live like that.”

Turney considers himself lucky. His basement was unfinished, and there just wasn’t as much down there to get soaked as he sees his neighbors bringing out of their homes.

“Nine bags on the curb and we’re not even done yet,” he said. “But people are just giving up because they have so much (damaged) stuff.”

Clark is asking Kenosha County residents with storm or flood damage to call the county Emergency Management Damage Hotline at (262) 605-7926, to report the extent of those damages. The information will be compiled in a report passed along to state emergency management authorities, who may make aid available for county residents.

Tornado confirmed

Turney lives near the origin of a weak tornado confirmed Saturday by the National Weather Service, which touched down late Friday afternoon just west of the intersection of Highway N (38th Street) and Interstate 94.

According to an advisory from the weather service office in Sullivan, the tornado began about 5:42 p.m. and traveled about a mile south-southeast, dissipating about two minutes later near the northwest runway of the Kenosha Regional Airport.

However, the tornado may not have been in contact with the ground for the entire time, the advisory said.

The weather service assigned a preliminary damage rating of EF-0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, corresponding to estimated wind speeds of 65 to 85 mph.

National Weather Service meteorologist Rusty Kapela traveled to the area Saturday morning to survey damage. He noted mainly tree damage in the area of the tornado.

Wind damage

Farther to the south, the weather service believes a severe wind downburst caused tree damage along Highway K (60th Street), west of I-94. The weather service advisory noted that all of the branches and trees were blown down toward the east, in a line that extended southeast toward Pleasant Prairie and into the south side of Kenosha.

The wind burst points roughly in the direction of Lenny Rauen’s home, 8760 88th Ave. in Pleasant Prairie. Rauen and his kids were on their way home from seeing the movie “Up” Friday when stuff started coming down.

Once they got home, Rauen and four children ran into the house at 8760 88th Ave., past the 50-foot oak tree in the yard.

“As soon as I got that door shut, that tree came down and popped the mud room door open, and the room just filled up with that tree,” Rauen said. “Absolute miracle. If I tried to fiddle with that garage door for 10 more seconds, we would have been right under the tree when it came down.”

With the help of chain-saw-wielding neighbors and his landlord’s tractor, Rauen cleaned the tree. The house survived without serious damage, and the Rauens rode out the rest of the storm in the basement.

Road washed out

Road crews were busy Saturday cleaning up after the storm.

Kenosha County Highway Director Gary Sipsma said all county roads were open by Saturday afternoon, with the exception of a stretch of Highway SA (103rd Street) east of Camp Lake, where Friday evening’s torrential downpours washed out the entire road bed.

“It’s one of those classic pictures where the asphalt is suspended in midair, and there’s nothing underneath it,” Sipsma said.

Sipsma said he expects the road to reopen Monday or Tuesday, after crews obtain the culvert material needed to fix it.

Elsewhere, Sipsma said road shoulders were completely washed out.

Highway C in Bristol, just west of Highway MB, was a trouble spot that workers were attending to Saturday morning.

Michelle Wade, who lives across the street from the washed-out area, said the highway was a lake on Friday night.

“It was completely covered over, running over the road,” Wade said.

Sipsma said most of the damage was centered south of Highway 50, from about Silver Lake all the way east to Lake Michigan.

He cautioned motorists this weekend to continue looking out for low shoulders and other storm-related problems.

“It was the classic flash flood,” he said.

Floods can foul wells with bacteria and other contaminants. County residents with wells can pick up free well testing kits from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: the Kenosha County Division of Health, 8600 Sheridan Road, Suite 600, in Kenosha, or the Kenosha County Center, 19600 75th St., in Bristol.

Flood cleanup kits are available at: Bristol Town Hall, 19801 83rd St.; Salem Town Hall, 9814 Antioch Road; Pleasant Prairie Fire Station 2, 8044 88th Ave.