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Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey knew the tornado damage was bad, but until Saturday, he hadn't seen the full effects that the storm had on the small communities.
"I knew it was this bad because I received faxes of all the pictures, said Obey. "I've had my field men down here for the last 10 days, since it hit. We just finished the session (Friday) night, so I got on a plane right away and came here."
Obey toured Siren and met with the town's local officials and volunteers Saturday morning. In the afternoon, he moved on to meet with Bashaw Township officials and tour the damaged areas there and in Ladysmith.
Though Obey had been receiving updates on the situation, things were different when he saw the areas with his own eyes.
"You didn't see what I saw west of town on the lake," said Obey. "There was incredible devastation there. There were huge crews out dealing with debris and cleaning up rubble from buildings that aren't there anymore."
In addition to seeing the devastation first-hand, Obey said he came to tour the area in order to make sure everyone was getting the help they needed.
"I wanted to come and see it on the ground and see if there was anything that wasn't happening that needed to be happening," said Obey.
Josie Pritchard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) public relations worker, and other FEMA members are also in the area trying to help. Pritchard says a lot of people who could get help don't even know they can receive it.
"People can call our 800 number (1-800-525-0321) if they have any damages," said Pritchard. "We know there's a lot of people that still have not called us. It could be because they have other things that they're taking care of right away, but they do have a limited time to apply for assistance."
"There are grant programs, which means they do not have to pay that money back," said Pritchard. "That seems to be a little bit of the confusion."
Pritchard says she's excited that Obey and other legislators have come to the area to see the damage for themselves.
"I think it's important that the legislators let the people know that they are interested in their welfare," said Pritchard, "and this is certainly one way of them doing that, to let them know 'Hey, we are here, we are your legislators, and we're here to help.'"
Obey and Pritchard both agree that the cleanup efforts in the area have been remarkable.
"It's been amazing, the amount of volunteer help that they've had down here," said Obey. "As you can see today, there are people out everywhere."
Obey was impressed during his visit to the storm-damaged areas, and says that one of the best things about his visit was finding that so many people were working together to help each other out in this time of crisis.
"I think everybody's doing everything that they can do," said Obey. "They're just working hard. It's been wonderful to see the way people have pulled together. It reinforces the meaning of the word neighbor."