As you watched the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, the Door County Emergency Management and Communications Department reviewed its protocols in case a similar event happened here. According to the USA Today, a cargo ship was leaving the Port of Baltimore at 1:30 a.m. when it struck one of the support columns. The bridge snapped and collapsed within moments of the collision. As of 9 a.m., emergency personnel were still searching for a group of construction workers who were on the bridge when the accident happened. Door County is served by three bridges: the Bayview Bridge, the Michigan Street Bridge, and the Maple/Oregon Street Bridge. Door County Emergency Management Director Jeb Saelens says when anything of this magnitude occurs, it is essential for departments like his to ask themselves, “What do we do if this was us?”

Saelens says Door County's bridge emergency plan was developed in the 2000s. A Door County bridge was struck in 2014 when a tug-barge hit the Maple/Oregon Street Bridge when it was in the down position. The collision caused damage to the bridge’s sidewalk, railing, and lighting.