A tornado ripped through La Crosse's South Side on Sunday afternoon, leaving a wake of leveled buildings, downed power lines and debris that stretched nearly halfway across the city.
The storm downed trees and wreaked havoc along a 1.5-mile stretch along a four-block wide path. The worst damage was along Green Bay and Redfield streets, where treetops were shorn, roofs and siding torn off houses and debris left hanging from tree limbs and power lines.
At least 200 homes and businesses were damaged, according to La Crosse County Emergency Management, including Bakalars Sausage Co., the Green Island Ice Arena, Kmart, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling building and Badger Corrugating.
Other homes just a few blocks away were untouched.
Somehow, in all the devastation, a miracle: no one was seriously hurt.
"God was looking out for a lot of people," La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki said.
The tornado struck at about 4:30 p.m. Mayor Matt Harter declared a state of emergency Sunday evening.
PHOTO GALLERY
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UPDATE, May 25, 2011: Raw Video: Dash Cam Catches Wisc. Tornado
A camera on a Lacrosse, WI city bus was rolling when a tornado came through on Sunday, May 22, 2011. No one was injured.
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