Assume any fallen line is energized, even if it is not sparking, humming or moving.
Stay at least 35 feet away and keep children and pets back.
Never drive over a downed line, and never try to move one with a stick, rope or anything else.
If a line falls on your car while you are inside, stay in the car and call 911. Only get out if it catches fire — and if you must, jump clear with both feet together, never touching car and ground at once, then shuffle away.
Treat every intersection with a dark traffic signal as a four-way stop.
Report downed lines to We Energies at 800-662-4797, or 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
Full guidance · Grand Chute Police Department · updated Jul 27, 4:00 PM
Burn ban still on in Neenah & Menasha — lifted in Fox Crossing Neenah · Menasha
No outdoor burning, including debris and brush, in Neenah or Menasha. Fox Crossing rescinded its burn ban on 18 August.
Do not burn storm debris, brush or yard waste outdoors in Neenah or the City of Menasha.
Fox Crossing has rescinded its burn ban as of Monday 18 August. Normal burning rules apply there again — check the Village's own permit requirements before lighting anything.
This applies even to small or contained fires — the ban does not distinguish by size.
Take debris to a municipal drop-off site or curbside pickup instead — see the Cleanup & Debris Removal section for your community's process.
Neenah and Menasha will announce publicly when their bans lift; no personal notice will be sent.
Full guidance · Village of Fox Crossing (ban rescinded 18 August); Neenah and Menasha not confirmed either way · updated Aug 20, 10:30 AM
The overnight curfew appears to be over Menasha · Fox Crossing
Fox Crossing lifted its curfew on 18 August. Winnebago County has since removed every mention of a curfew from its tornado pages. Menasha has not published a formal end, but nothing current says one is still in force.
Fox Crossing: lifted. Ended Monday 18 August by declaration of the Village Administrator. Ordinary trespassing and loitering rules still apply.
Menasha: no longer posted anywhere. The county has dropped it and Menasha's own storm page has not been updated since 31 July. We are no longer telling you there is a curfew here.
If you need certainty — because you work nights, or you are worried about being stopped — ring Menasha Police on 920-967-3500 and ask. It is a fair question.
The streets are still not safe to wander after dark. Streetlights are out in the damaged blocks and downed conductors are invisible at night. That was always the real reason to stay in, and it has not changed.
If you are displaced and have nowhere to be tonight, overnight sheltering is still listed at Appleton North High School, 5000 N Ballard Rd, Appleton.
Full guidance · Village of Fox Crossing (lifted 18 August); Winnebago County tornado pages (no curfew listed as of 20 August) · updated Aug 20, 10:30 AM
Immediate need
Health, Medical & Mental Health
Urgent care, replacing lost prescriptions, oxygen and dialysis needs, and free crisis counseling for anyone struggling after the storm.
7 places to go or call ·7 open now·6 you can call·4 things to know ·
Places to go & people to call
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Open
Call or text 988. Free, confidential, 24/7, for anyone in emotional distress — not only suicidal crisis.
You do not have to be suicidal to call 988. If you are overwhelmed, panicking, cannot stop shaking, or cannot think straight after what happened, that is exactly what this line is for.
Call or text 988 from any phone
Chat online at 988lifeline.org
Press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line
Spanish-language support available
Free and confidential.
County mental health crisis lines
Open
Free 24/7 crisis lines run by Winnebago and Outagamie counties, in addition to the 988 national line.
This is the crisis line built specifically for people living through exactly this — a tornado, a flood, a fire. The counselors are trained in disaster response, not general crisis work.
Call or text 1-800-985-5990
Multilingual support available
Free, confidential, 24/7
What people commonly feel in the first weeks: trouble sleeping, replaying it, jumping at wind or sirens, numbness, irritability, guilt about having less damage than a neighbor. All of that is a normal response to an abnormal event. Talking to someone early genuinely shortens it.
Children often show it differently — clinging, regression, stomach aches, or refusing to be in a room alone. Keeping routines and letting them tell the story in their own words helps a great deal.
Free counseling — nobody turned away for inability to pay
Open
Catholic Charities offers counseling and peer support at the LEAVEN centre in Menasha or by video. They state plainly that no one is turned away for being unable to pay.
In person at the LEAVEN Community Resource Center, 1475 Opportunity Way, Menasha — the same building many people have already been to for financial help — or by video call if getting there is the problem.
Worth knowing
You do not have to be Catholic, and you will not be asked to be. Peer support means talking to someone who has been through something similar, which some people find easier to start with than a counsellor.
If you have been putting this off because you assumed you could not afford it, that assumption is the thing this entry exists to remove.
In immediate danger? Use 988 or the Winnebago County Crisis Line on 920-233-7707, both 24/7. This entry is for the weeks after, not the worst hour.
Fox Valley Lions — medical equipment loan locker
Open
Borrow wheelchairs, walkers and other medical equipment free of charge if the storm damaged or buried yours.
The Fox Valley Lions MJ Tassoul Loan Locker lends medical equipment — wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and similar items — free of charge. Message them through Facebook to ask about availability and pickup.
Boys & Girls Club of Menasha — care packages, by phone
Limited
No longer a walk-in hub — the shower trailer and daily meals have ended. Care packages are still available, but ring the Home Base team on 920-750-5822 to arrange pickup.
This has changed. Do not turn up expecting the old setup.
Through the first weeks the Club ran as an all-day walk-in site with a shower trailer, lunch and dinner, and take-home supplies. That has ended. Youth programming resumed on 10 August and the building is back to being a youth club.
Care packages are still available, but they are arranged by phone:
Ring the Home Base team on 920-750-5822 to coordinate support and pickup.
The county published calling windows of 8:00–9:00 a.m. and 4:00–5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, for the week of 10 August. That week has passed and no newer windows have been posted, so ring and leave a message if nobody picks up rather than driving over.
If you need a shower
Jefferson Early Learning, 105 Ice St, Menasha — showers daily, 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. This is the closest replacement for what the Club used to offer, and it also does resource pickup 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
YMCA of the Fox Cities — Apple Creek, Appleton, Fox West, Heart of the Valley, Neenah-Menasha, Ogden, and Valley Tennis Center. The Neenah-Menasha YMCA (110 W North Water St) runs 5:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. No membership needed
Fire Fitness locations
Planet Fitness — 697 S Green Bay Rd, Neenah, and 2700 W College Ave, Appleton
If you need supplies
Jefferson Early Learning, 105 Ice St, Menasha — water, non-perishable food, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items. Daily 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Mill City Church, 120 N Lake St, Neenah — water, plus totes of non-perishable food, outdoor cleanup supplies and hygiene items. Open until 4:00 p.m.
Community Clothes Closet, 1465 Opportunity Way #B, Menasha — clothing and supplies
