After Saturday’s storms stranded visitors on Cana Island for several hours, a hopeful light shines at the top of the lighthouse.
It was announced Tuesday afternoon that the property that houses the Cana Island Lighthouse and other historic structures would reopen on Wednesday.
On Saturday, over 20 visitors were trying to get to their cars when the storm hit Baileys Harbor at around 4 p.m. It was not until after 11 p.m. that the visitors could be safely released from the island. Downed trees and a damaged interpretive center greeted crews from the Door County Parks Department, Door County Maritime Museum, and U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday. Door County Maritime Museum Deputy Director Sam Perlman is relieved that no one was hurt as a part of the ordeal, and none of the historic structures on the site, including the 150-plus-year-old lighthouse, were damaged. He is also thankful for the County of Door employees and volunteers from the museum and the Coast Guard for their hard work to ensure the safe reopening of Cana Island.
Perlman says no cost estimates have been made on how much the clean-up efforts and the interpretative center repairs will cost the county and the museum, which jointly manage the site. On Tuesday, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency due to the damage, power outages, and flooding caused by the weekend storms.
Pictures courtesy of Cana Island Lighthouse
