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| Clintonville City Administrator Lisa Kuss |
Yes, there was a widely experienced, well documented sound phenomenon in Wisconsin—just weeks ago!
On Sunday night, March 18, 2012, starting around 9:30 PM, the tiny town (pop. 4,550) of Clintonville, Wisconsin, was shaken by a series of loud booms.
“The Clintonville
Incident”
First described as “explosions under the ground” by an eyewitness
(or “earwitness”), the booms seemed to come and go. Dubbed “The
Clintonville Incident” by a local news station, the booms continued throughout the
night and into the day, starting again at about 7:00 AM. It became clear that
many more people experienced the booms and reported the same thing.
No damage was reported and no one was evacuated.
The official on the ground is the City Administrator, Lisa
Kuss (pronounced “koose”). She has heard the booms herself and knows what the city is up against. Right away, she surveys the situation and takes action, says manholes were being opened and checked
throughout the city for gas leaks, but none were found. Utility crews, fire dept and police thoroughly
patrolled the area—nothing.
Quote Lisa Kuss on Monday: “What we know from Geologist down
at UW Madison is that this is not clearly consistent with earthquake activity that,
that typically happens about one mile below the earth’s surface or more”. This supposition would change.
“…booms were becoming
more intense”
Monday night the booms were experienced over a wider area,
leading to hundreds of 911 calls. Witnesses claimed that the booms were
becoming more intense, but seem
to taper off during the daytime.
Imagine being at home and all of the sudden loud booms are
heard that shake your front door. Some of these are heard in succession, and sometimes
in the middle of the night.
By the end of Tuesday, recording, video and other monitoring
equipment are set up. Relatively fewer
sounds are heard.
Concerned citizen’s schedule a town hall meeting, scheduled
for Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM.
Relatively fewer sounds are heard Tuesday night, until about
5:00 AM Wednesday morning. 28-calls are received from residents within minutes
complaining of 3-large booms.
Appeal to outside
scientists
Lisa Kuss speaks to a local news station at 6:30 AM,
Wednesday morning, and indicates that after a third day, people are becoming
frustrated after realizing that it is not gas or such explanations, and claims
that the sounds happen “it tends to happen more at night” and rules out
geological explanations like frost thawing, early warm weather or earthquakes.
Also ruled out water/sewer systems elevated gas or the dam or landfill, or the,
military. Have also investigated or mining operations. Makes appeal to outside scientists, and
indicates that with engineers to get vibration detecting devices to figure out epicenter.
Says will have meeting at High School to answer questions; important to bring
people together.
A man named John speaks to a local Fox 11 News station and
claims the he heard booms Wednesday morning at: 4:56 4:58 4:59 5:29 6:03 6:20
6:22 6:24 6:25. However, Fox 11 reports
that recording equipment fail to record booms.
“God is shaking our
city”
Kuss says the city signed a contract with an engineering
company out of Waukesha, to install vibration measuring devices. The devices
are expected to arrive on Thursday or Friday. This equipment could cost the city
about $7,000. She also announces counselors from the American Red Cross will
be at Clintonville High School in the evening (meeting at 6:00 PM) in case
people are stressed by the shaking they’ve felt or the stories they’ve heard.
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| Frightened citizens search for answers |
By 5:00 PM Wednesday, 550-911 calls were received about the
booms.
The “Booms-area”
expands
Channel 15at 5:00 reports that the nearby city of Montello,
WI (80 miles south of Clintonville) also experienced a boom Tuesday night.
It is reported that between 1:30 and 2:30 AM Wednesday night
more booms were heard.
Baby earthquake is
blamed
NBC News through its affiliate TMJ 4, at 6:00 PM, reported
that an earthquake of a magnitude of 1.5, hit Clintonville at 12:15 AM Tuesday
20th. From here on out, every conversation that grasps for explanations
will cite the 1.5 earthquake; in fact, the City itself will sell T-shirts online
that say: “I survived the 1.5”.
NBC 26 reports that the seismic equipment
arrived.
Thursday night 12 reports of booms.
Thursday night 12 reports of booms.
Friday Night, booms return. But only 3 people report booms.
"We don't know
if we have Clintonville going on here or what?"
- Mark Schauf, Baraboo Police Chief
On Sunday, April 1, at 1:00 AM, two bright flashes of light 45 minutes apart are seen, each followed by a loud boom. Not in Clintonville but in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Loud, jolting booms have previously been reported in Montello (northeast of Baraboo) at 5:30 PM Central on March 20, 2012; and in Clintonville 80 miles northeast of Montello.
- Mark Schauf, Baraboo Police Chief
On Sunday, April 1, at 1:00 AM, two bright flashes of light 45 minutes apart are seen, each followed by a loud boom. Not in Clintonville but in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Loud, jolting booms have previously been reported in Montello (northeast of Baraboo) at 5:30 PM Central on March 20, 2012; and in Clintonville 80 miles northeast of Montello.
Finally, on March 24th, the Clintonville booms are finally recorded
by Brian Sullivan, an audio student from Madison College.
Throughout the next several weeks the booms die down. In late April, UFO Blog called Lisa
Kuss, City Administrator of Clintonville, and asked, “Are the booms still being
heard?” She answered “no”.
Earthquakes are rare in Wisconsin, the reason may be the dense, hard granite bedrock under the city is more stable and shifts less than the softer ground of, say, California. The theory has been advanced that, air pockets in the bedrock are broken by the earthquakes and essentially explode, or the gnashing of the bedrock against itself also causes audible booms that shake the townspeople's homes. No correlation, however, between the 1.5 earthquake (including it's attendant fore and aftershocks) and a greater degree of "booming" at the time of the quake was ever made. In fact no direct correlation between any seismic activity and any sequence of booms was ever made. The Townspeople rarely ever cited earthquakes instead complained mostly about the booms themselves.
The assertion the Boom Phenomenon in Clintonville was caused by earthquakes is flawed, and other booms were also heard by distant towns where no particular seismic activity was detected. Finally, Loud booms, as were heard could themselves cause the ground to shake. In fact the student that recorded the booms, Brian Sullivan, said the he heard the boom first, then felt the ground shake.
Although many seismic readings and measurements were later recorded, the true reason for the Clintonville booms may never be known.
The assertion the Boom Phenomenon in Clintonville was caused by earthquakes is flawed, and other booms were also heard by distant towns where no particular seismic activity was detected. Finally, Loud booms, as were heard could themselves cause the ground to shake. In fact the student that recorded the booms, Brian Sullivan, said the he heard the boom first, then felt the ground shake.
Although many seismic readings and measurements were later recorded, the true reason for the Clintonville booms may never be known.
