From the end of March into early April, Marshall County experienced a rare and historic weather event — two EF-1 tornadoes touched down within three days. The first tornado struck Donaldson on Sunday, March 30, traveling 3.3 miles. Just days later, on Wednesday evening, April 2, a second tornado was on the ground for 18 miles. It began north of Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver, passed through Bourbon, and briefly entered Kosciusko County before dissipating.

These storms caused significant damage to our electric infrastructure. The first tornado knocked out power to 5,500 members — more than 90% of our 6,238-member cooperative — and destroyed over 25 poles, primarily three-phase feeder lines. Restoration efforts began immediately with support from neighboring co-ops Heartland REMC, Jay County REMC, Miami-Cass REMC, and Northeastern REMC. Our contractor, Linetec, and tree crews from Mint City Utilities also played a role in restoration efforts. Power was fully restored by Wednesday morning.

Just hours later, the second tornado hit, causing outages for over 2,500 members and breaking another 25 plus poles, including more three-phase feeder lines. Again, with the help of visiting crews from neighboring co-ops Fulton County REMC, Heartland REMC, Miami-Cass REMC, and Northeastern REMC, as well as additional crews from Linetec and Mint City, all members were restored by Friday.

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the many local organizations that played a role in recovery and support. The Marshall County Highway Department, Bourbon Fire Department, Indiana State Police, Bourbon Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and 911 Dispatch team, Culver Union Township Fire Department, Marshall County EMA, Miller’s Merry Manor, Log House Restaurant, Pilgrim Manor, Swan Lake Resort, Indiana Electric Cooperatives, and RTC Fiber Communications all provided critical assistance and hospitality during the aftermath of the storms. And to our members — thank you for your patience, understanding, and support through this difficult time.

Though this was a challenging period, the outpouring of help and support we received truly demonstrated the strength of our community. It’s a powerful example of one of our core cooperative principles: Cooperation Among Cooperatives.

Thank you to all who stood with us.

When storms strike, stay up to date with outage updates on our Facebook page: facebook.com/MarshallCountyRemc.