Fire destroys long-standing social center in small town in western Wisconsin

MILLTOWN, Wis. (KARE 11) – Investigators are trying to determine if weather is to blame for a fire that destroyed an important public building in a small western Wisconsin town.

Witnesses report that a tree fell on a power line during Monday’s thunderstorm, causing the fire to break out in the Milltown community center. Milltown is located near Luck and Balsam Lake in the US state of Wisconsin.

“I stayed awake and just watched out the window. I saw more and more smoke slowly rising from the building and I realized there was a fire,” said Peyton Hearn, who lives across the street. “The roof suddenly burst open and the flames were as high as the trees.”

The fire destroyed the community center, which opened in 1986. Before that, it was a school that village president Larry Kuske attended as a child. He can’t believe the building is no longer there.

“It’s definitely an icon,” said Kuske, who said workers had just finished remodeling the building after it was damaged by a fire in a nearby apartment building several years ago.

“It’s happening again, but now it’s definitely worse because it’s not habitable at all,” Kuske said.

He said people use the space for weddings, reunions and even funerals. Volunteers also use the kitchen to pack food for Meals on Wheels.

Despite witnesses’ statements, the local fire chief has not yet determined an official cause of the fire. Kuske said it was very windy Monday night and there was a lot of lightning. An insurance adjuster is expected on site on Wednesday to assess the damage and conduct further investigations into what might have started the fire.

“I think we need to start from scratch,” said Kuske. “I am confident that we can do that.”

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