Whitewater Fire and EMS Press Release
RELEASE PREPARED BY: Assistant Chief Ryan Dion
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT: AC Ryan Dion; rdion@whitewater-wi.gov
INCIDENT TYPE: Suspected Lightning Strike
LOCATION: 400 Block of South Elizabeth Street, City of Whitewater
DATE/TIME OF INCIDENT: 07/27/2026; 9:56 a.m.
INJURIES: 1 Fatality
OTHER AGENCIES INVOLVED: City of Whitewater Police Department; WE Energies
INCIDENT NARRATIVE: At approximately 0956 on Monday, July 27th, Whitewater Fire and EMS responded to a report of a subject stuck in a tree with a possible electrocution injury. Fire department units arrived on scene approximately five minutes after dispatch and found an unresponsive victim suspended approximately sixty feet high in a tree located in a back lot off W. Laurel Street.
Fire officials made contact with a crew subcontracted by WE Energies that was performing tree clearing in the area of S. Elizabeth Street, W. Court Street, and W. Laurel Street. The supervisor of the crew reported that there was a “loud bang and a flash,” and they believed the tree had been struck by lightning. A weather system was moving through the City of Whitewater at the time of the 911 call, and there was no evidence immediately available on scene to suggest that the worker contacted energized electrical lines.
An attempt was made using Whitewater Tower Ladder 121 to reach the victim; however, due to the setback of the tree from the road, crews were unable to reach him. Members from the tree-trimming crew then ascended the tree and lowered the victim (who was wearing a safety harness) to the ground, where an EMS crew was standing by. The victim, a 29‑year‑old male, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The Walworth County Medical Examiner and the City of Whitewater Police Department will conduct the death investigation. Mutual aid was requested from the City of Delavan Fire Department for a ladder truck. Truck 254 responded and was released by command a short time after arriving on scene.