Mysterious booms continue to rattle Clintonville; officials still investigating cause
By: Caroline Rowland
Updated: March 20, 2012
CLINTONVILLE, Wis. (WFRV)-- Clintonville officials are still trying to figure out what's causing the booming and shaking there.
For the past two nights, hundreds of people have reported feeling tremors and hearing loud booms. It started late Sunday night, and into Monday morning, then again Monday night and into early Tuesday morning with the last reports around 9a.m. The booms still remain a mystery to city officials.
"Clearly whatever was happening the night before came back the next evening it clearly again today, as it did yesterday, subsided during the day not necessarily to absolutely nothing but certainly more mild, so again that leads us to believe is it something that happens or doesn't happen during the day within systems, or is it something that's temperature related," said Lisa Kuss, city Administrator.
The booms are confined to a six-block radius, that expanded over Monday night.
"It's just an instantaneous bam a rattling of the earth and then it's done, clearly when it happens at that hour of the day it's not people imagining things," said Kuss.
Kuss said they have ruled out a few causes so far: the water system, a dam, the city landfill and they have been working with geologists from Madison and Milwaukee who have not registered any significant seismic activity.
"Officially there is no earthquake activity, earthquakes being one mile below the earth or deeper," said Kuss.
We Energies had a crew driving around the neighborhood all day to make sure there were no gas leaks,
but they do not believe that is the cause.
Kuss said they will continue to investigate and at this time they do not believe people are in real danger, despite some people choosing to leave town last night.
"It's not our intention to evacuate but if people obviously need to make the decision for their own safety, its each person's individual decision," said Kuss.
Wednesday night at 6p.m. at Clintonville High School they will hold a public forum to discuss the mysterious booms. They are asking residents who feel or hear the booms to call the police department at (715) 823-3117.
