Outagamie County Hazards

Salvage Yard Fire in Nichols ~ May 22^nd, 2015

While working on a truck, workers of the salvage yard created a spark that ignited a fire within the fire and later resulted in an explosion. Local responders were able to contain the fire and extinguished it in about two hours.  

Warehouse Fire in Combined Locks ~ July 2022

Shortly after 10 am on July 8^th, the ignition of paper pulp bales at Warehouse Specialists Inc. resulted in a more than 24 hour response from about 700 emergency responders from 67 departments. This large fire also issued a voluntarily evacuations of the surrounding residents due to the abundance of smoke.  There were no documented injuries to residents or first responders. 

River Rail Bar & Banquet Hall in Shiocton ~ August 2^nd, 2023

This fire started in the second floor apartment and spread throughout the building. About 90 crew members from 25 fire departments responded to this fire. It took responders about four hours to put our the fire. Fortunately, there was no one injured from this incident; however, much of the supper club was destroyed. 

Recycling Facility Fire ~ February 26^th, 2025

Outagamie County Recycling and Solid Waste experienced a fire due to the improper recycling of a lithium-ion battery. The battery was sorted into a paper baler and sparked. 

Fox Valley Flooding ~ 2015

• June 14^th - A weather system moving through the region brought 2.23 inches of rain  to the northwest side of Appleton. Flooding occurred throughout Appleton and Grand Chute. Police officers responded by barricading flooded streets and numerous car rescues. Hortonville and Freedom experienced flooding from this system as well. 
  
  
• September 7^th 2015 - Flash flooding occurred throughout the region; however, Kaukauna was one of the hardest-hit areas. 

City of Appleton Flooding Events ~ July 2024

• July 5^th - A flash flood emergency was issued for the City of Appleton after they received heavy rainfall. This flash flooding resulted in damage to property, evacuation of residents, and water rescues. This weather event resulted in Governor Tony Evers to declare a state of emergency.
  
  
• July 13^th - the National Weather Service of Green Bay issued another flash flood warning this Saturday night for Appleton, Kaukauna, and Little Chute. The weather system brought about 3 inches of rain in a short amount of time, wind, and hail to the Fox Valley. 

Chlorine gas release in Appleton ~ Mach 6^th, 2023

The Appleton YMCA was evacuated due to an accidental mixing of pool chemicals that resulted in a creation of chlorine gas. Appleton hazardous materials team responded to the incident by removing the reacting chemicals and checking on the affected individuals. 

Alcohol spill in Freedom ~ July 5^th, 2023

At approximately 10 pm on July 5th, 20023 a semi tractor-trailer crashed near County Highway N and Greiner Road that resulted in a release of its full load of alcohol-based chemical. Appleton and Freedom dire departments responded to the spill to control the leak. Clean up took place until 3:30 am on July 6^th. 

Chlorine spill in Grand Chute ~ August 9^th, 2023

Grand Chute Fire Department and Appleton Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Team responded to hotel in Grand Chute for a chlorine gas release after improper mixing of pool chemicals. During the response, all hotel staff and visitors were evacuated. The individual who accidently mixed the chemicals was transported to a hospital as a precaution. 

Fox River Mall Incident

A fatal shooting occurred near the food court at the Fox River Mall on January 23rd, 2021. This incident lead to a major response from first responders. A thorough evacuation of the mall. 

I-41 Pile-up (A Major Car Crash)

On February 24, 2019, a major car crash occurred near Oshkosh on Interstate-41. This car crash was caused by strong winds blowing freshly fallen snow creating white out conditions. First responders responded to a scene with a total of 119 vehicles were involved in the crash in freezing temperatures. It took roughly two hours to detour all of the vehicles that were backed up behind the crash. While this incident did not occur within Outagamie County, it did happen very close to home affecting transportation and medical facilities. 

Below is a list of some of Outagamie County's most notable tornado events. Dive deeper into Outagamie County weather hazard history by reading this document created by National Weather Service (NWS) Outagamie County Severe Weather Facts (1950-2023).