KENOSHA COUNTY — Crews are out trying to build back the land underneath the house destroyed by Lake Michigan's monstrous waves on Saturday.
Saturday's storm left a Pleasant Prairie home ravaged. With calmer conditions Monday, crews dumped blocks of concrete into the dead space to try to build back the shore.
"If you fill it in with broken concrete like this, it's strong," said John Vosh of Vtech Services. "They're broken pieces, they're jagged and they lock together from being ripped out by the water."
The man renting it is now staying at a hotel, as the home is inhabitable. The owners say this was their retirement home, and now they are not sure if they will be able to rebuild. The homeowner said the erosion has gotten much worse over the years.
The public works department said the home did not have adequate shoreline protection, which is not mandatory but recommended.
Charlotte Brengel lives next door and has shoreline protection. She watched as waves made about 30 feet of her backyard disappear Saturday, taking her deck with it.
"We used to go on that jetty and jump off and swim in the lake," Brengel said.
Brengel was planning on reinforcing her shoreline protection this spring, but now her project will be more expensive.
The Department of Natural Resources says it's due in part to record-high lake levels.
"This is my home," Brengel said. "And I love the neighborhood and the community, great people live here, but I guess we'll have to wait for the numbers."
The DNR has resources for shoreline protection here.
