6 days ago
Kayaker rescued from Menomonee River; City of Wauwatosa moves to damage assessment
The City of Wauwatosa's first responders rescued a kayaker from the dangerously high Menomonee River on Aug. 11 following what's been classified as a 1,000-year flooding event, Wauwatosa Fire Chief Jim Case reported at an Aug. 12 media briefing.
After the person's kayak flipped, they grabbed onto debris from the floods until they were rescued, Case said.
The city urges residents to heed all closures and barricades.
Wauwatosa first responders made 'numerous life-saving rescues' and responded to over 200 weather-related calls in the first 18 hours of the flash flood event, Case said.
"At the peak, resources were tapped," Case said.
No serious injuries or fatalities were reported in the city.
'Our crews did an amazing job responding,' Case said.
After a slight delay caused by the removal of fallen trees from early morning storms, as of Sunday morning, the city has moved to damage assessment efforts on business, public property and private property.
Hart Park experienced significant flooding and is closed to the public until further notice. Although the park is designed to act as a floodwater storage area for the Menomonee River, it took on significant damage, David Simpson, director of Public Works, reported.
The closure includes all public traffic on, near or around the Rotary Stage, the playground and trails, because the area is a safety concern, according to the city.
Additional closures in Wauwatosa include:
Menomonee River Parkway at Charles Hart Parkway
70th Street at Menomonee River – Expected to be long-term
72nd Street at Hart Park
Harwood Avenue at Dewey Avenue
Pedestrian bridge at Menomonee River
Find information on clean-up and recovery resources in Wauwatosa here.
Liliana Fannin is a 2025 summer intern at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covering the Milwaukee suburbs. She can be contacted at lfannin@
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kayaker rescued from Menomonee River in Wauwatosa
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