May 27, 2026 – by Tim Hundt
VIROQUA Wis. – The road to recovery following a severe natural disaster in rural Wisconsin is rarely a straight or easy path. That reality was made clear during the May 21 meeting of the Vernon County Board of Supervisors when Emergency Management Director Brandon Larson outlined the ongoing efforts to help the community of Westby rebuild after a devastating April 14 hailstorm.
Larson provided the board with a comprehensive look at his department which serves as the coordinating administrative arm for the county during times of crisis. The Vernon County Office of Emergency Management is responsible for directing disaster response and recovery efforts while preparing local agencies volunteer organizations and citizens to handle both natural and man made disasters. Under state and federal laws Larson is tasked with everything from planning hazardous materials responses to pursuing disaster relief funding when communities like Westby are hit hard by extreme weather.
During his report Larson focused heavily on the financial gaps leaving many Westby residents struggling to repair homes and businesses that were riddled with hail. While the county has submitted damage assessments to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for both public and individual assistance declarations Larson warned that federal help is never a guarantee and rarely covers all the losses.
“FEMA does not fully recover anybody,” said Larson. “The max they will pay is roughly $45,000 dollars and that is not offered very often.”
Even with insurance many property owners are finding themselves unable to afford the repairs due to soaring deductibles and depreciated property valuations.
“I am hearing the gap with residents in Westby is huge from what insurance will pay because they are depreciating siding and roofs,” said Larson. “Some they are saying the roofs are too old so they are not paying to fix them.”
To help bridge that massive financial gap Larson explained that local and regional organizations are stepping up. He noted that the River 2 Ridge Disaster Resilience Group is providing case managers and funding while CouleeCap is offering emergency funds for those who qualify based on income.
“The long term recovery group or River 2 Ridge Disaster Resilience Group has some funding and case managers so we are actively working with them,” said Larson. “And CouleeCap has I think they had $250,000 dollars in emergency funding for low to moderate income.”
Larson also discussed the ongoing push for a state level Individual Assistance Program which would help cover damages when federal declarations fall short. While there is bipartisan support for the initiative known as the Wiser Act the legislation did not pass during the most recent state funding package. If approved the program would provide $10 million dollars for residents and $20 million dollars for businesses in grant funding.
Beyond the Westby recovery efforts Larson updated the board on several other major initiatives his department is managing across the county. He noted that concrete was finally being poured for the new emergency management storage facility on Railroad Avenue in Viroqua. The county board previously approved borrowing to construct the $400,000 dollar building which will house vital equipment for the regional hazardous materials response team.
Larson also highlighted the success of the new Everbridge mass notification system which replaced the antiquated Nixle platform last year. The system automatically enrolled over 26,000 contacts through open source data and has been used effectively to notify residents of road closures and severe weather. Larson noted they had to adjust the system settings recently because the initial alerts displayed his direct office phone number causing residents to flood his line with return calls.
“We changed the phone number just so I do not get all those phone calls directly back,” said Larson during a previous committee meeting. “If you do call that number back there is a voice message then that says you received an alert from Vernon County.”
Looking to the future Larson reported that his department is implementing a new Survey 123 application that allows local municipalities to submit damage assessments digitally from their phones directly to the county and state. He is also leading a countywide schools task force to ensure all public and private schools are using consistent emergency response plans and language.
Finally Larson noted that the county Emergency Operations Center located in the basement of the Erlandson building has not needed to be fully activated for a disaster in five years.
“Keep it that way,” said Larson. “Because that means it is a bad day.”
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