Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

2 days ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

2 days ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 days ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

2 days ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

3 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

3 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

3 days ago
Boy Swept in Sewer Sticks Finger out of Manhole and Is Saved
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 31, 2018

Share

MADISON, Wis. — An 11-year-old boy sucked into a flooded Wisconsin storm sewer was saved when an eagle-eyed firefighter saw the boy’s fingers pop through an opening in a manhole cover.
The astonishing rescue Tuesday evening came as storms pounded the southern half of the state and southeastern Minnesota.
The Calumet County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was playing with friends in a flooded drainage ditch after the rains passed around 6 p.m. in the Village of Harrison. He disappeared under the water and didn’t surface.
A dive team, sheriff’s deputies and volunteer firefighters responded. Deputy Fire Chief Wesley Pompa said that when they arrived they found a bystander trying to hold onto the boy but he was sucked into a culvert that led to the storm sewer.
Pompa said the water was rushing so quickly it would have sucked a full-grown man into the culvert.
The rescuers could do nothing except try to determine where the flow might take the boy. Pompa called the village road superintendent, Bob Kesler, to the scene to help map out the sewers.

Boy’s Fingers Pop Through the Manhole Cover

Pompa and Kesler were standing on top of a manhole cover about 30 feet away from the ditch when Pompa saw the boy’s fingers pop through an opening in the cover. The boy had found air pocket just beneath the manhole cover and was hanging onto a ladder leading up to the manhole.

“I just thank God he was alive and he’d made it that long. It could have gone a million different ways but this one way it worked out for him.” — Deputy Fire Chief Wesley Pompa
The firefighters wrenched the cover open. Pompa and Kesler lifted the boy to safety.
“He was hollering and talking to us and he was able to reach up for us,” Pompa said.
The boy was taken to the hospital, and authorities said he was alert and conscious after his ordeal. Pompa said he never got the boy’s name.
“I just thank God he was alive and he’d made it that long,” Pompa said. “It could have gone a million different ways but this one way it worked out for him.”
A string of storms began moving through the region last week, flooding streets and farm fields and cutting power. One man was killed in Madison as he tried to escape from a flooded ditch last week.

20 Counties Have Been Affected by Flooding

State emergency officials said 20 counties have been affected by flooding over the last 10 days. Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday declared a statewide emergency, directing state agencies and the Wisconsin National Guard to assist local authorities as needed. The declaration also is the first formal step toward requesting federal assistance.
Hardest hit has been Wisconsin’s southwestern corner. Up to 11 inches fell in the region Monday into Tuesday, forcing evacuations in La Crosse, Vernon and Monroe counties.
The area got another 1.3 inches of rain on Tuesday. The deluge stranded two Amtrak trains carrying about 400 passengers for hours because of flooding over the tracks. One train bound for Chicago was forced to stop near Tomah in western Wisconsin; another bound for St. Paul had to stop near Portage in south-central Wisconsin.
The trains sat on the tracks overnight. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said passengers were given complementary food and water and the trains are designed to accommodate passengers overnight. Both trains had resumed their routes by midday Wednesday.
Parts of Interstate 90/94 were closed overnight due to standing water on the pavement and highways across southern Wisconsin have been rendered impassable. Emergency officials in Madison were still grappling with flooded streets on Wednesday morning and warned commuters to expect delays for days.

Several Tornadoes Were Also Spotted

Several tornadoes were spotted Tuesday afternoon in Campbellsport, Lomira, Oakfield and Brandon, Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service. The service has not confirmed that tornadoes hit in any of these locations. Possible tornadoes also demolished two barns in Fond du Lac County, killing about 100 cattle, Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman Lori Getter said.
Some 12,000 We Energies customers were still without power Wednesday morning as utility crews worked overtime to restore service.
Southeastern Minnesota has also been struggling with flooding over the last few days. Tuesday night’s storms largely missed that area, passing to the south, although some spots got hit hard.
Houston County officials, for example, reported 7 inches of rain and had to evacuate a campground and a tornado came down in Goodhue County, Minnesota Emergency Management spokesowman Amber Schindeldecker said. No evacuations have been reported to the state, she said.
Forecasts called for drier weather Wednesday and Thursday. More rain was expected Friday and Saturday.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

DON'T MISS

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

DON'T MISS

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

DON'T MISS

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

DON'T MISS

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

DON'T MISS

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

DON'T MISS

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

UP NEXT

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

UP NEXT

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

UP NEXT

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

UP NEXT

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

UP NEXT

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

UP NEXT

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

UP NEXT

Trump Says There Is a 50-50 Chance of Trade Deal With EU

UP NEXT

Amid Epstein Furor, Ghislaine Maxwell Seeks Relief From US Supreme Court

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

UP NEXT

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

17 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

18 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

18 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

18 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

18 hours ago

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

19 hours ago

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

19 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

1 day ago

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

1 day ago

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

1 day ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The entire board of directors overseeing Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools in Sacramento has either resigned or been removed...

15 hours ago

The entire board of Highlands Community Charter in Sacramento stepped down after a state audit found the school improperly received over $180 million and engaged in questionable spending. (Shutter
15 hours ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a ward for Palestinian patients at El Arish Hospital, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, in Arish, Egypt April 8, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
17 hours ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump golfs at Trump Turnberry resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 26, 2025. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
17 hours ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

Noah Robinson, 38, was arrested after allegedly robbing a Visalia Long John Silver’s at knifepoint and attempting to flee through nearby backyards with $110 in stolen cash on Friday, July 25, 2025. (Visalia PD)
18 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

18 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

Craft Brewer Jack McAuliffe With Jim Koch of Samuel Adams
18 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

fresno
18 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend