Gov. Evers declares state of emergency, authorizes National Guard help following downtown fires

Jessica Arp by Jessica Arp

Kate Wiedel

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency for the City of Madison and Dane County following fires at two electric substations .

An executive order issued by Evers says the declaration was issued to “provide support during the large power outage that is exacerbated by the extreme heat wave affecting the area.”

#BREAKING: @GovEvers issues State of Emergency as a result of explosions/fires downtown #Madison: #news3now https://t.co/Whf5d2rVlj

— Jessica Arp (@news3jessica) July 19, 2019

Earlier Friday, Evers ordered all non-essential state employees to go home after many state office buildings lost power.

Today I signed executive order #34 declaring a state of emergency and closing affected state agency buildings due to two fires this morning at electric substations in Madison. pic.twitter.com/7ZXzfd1NrH

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) July 19, 2019

“We are grateful that no one has been injured as a result of the explosion and fires this morning,” Evers said in a statement.

Thank you, @GovEvers for declaring a state of emergency. City employees and community partners are hard at work in the EOC to restore services for our residents. #CityOfMadison #MadisonOutage pic.twitter.com/XqSS8QkibI

— City of Madison, WI (@CityofMadison) July 19, 2019

Evers says he has directed all state agencies to provide assistance and has authorized the National Guard to assist local authorities if needed.

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