14 skiers rescued at Sunburst Ski Hill after power outage in Kewaskum

KEWASKUM, Wis. (CBS 58) — On Saturday, more than a dozen people were evacuated after a ski lift lost power at Sunburst Ski Hill in the Town of Kewaskum.

On Sunburst Ski Hill's opening day, a partial power outage affected the entire town and village of Kewaskum, leaving 14 people stranded on the chairlift.

"I was definitely creeped out. I remember texting my dad and I was like, I think something just happened," said Kenley Yapp, rescued snowboarder.

CBS 58's Pavlina Osta got video of Yapp being rescued off the lift.

"It stopped once, then they got it going, then it stopped again. They got it going and the third time, it just stopped, and the lights were flickering on the lift, so I was like, okay," said Yapp.

She says she was one of the last to get down.

"It was, dare I say, cool. I mean, I was very cold, but they handled it really well and they were really good talking me through it," said Yapp.

Kewaskum Fire Captain Jeff Buechel was on the scene. He helped evacuate five of the 14 skiers.

"One of them was pretty nervous but they did very well, we talked through it," said Captain Buechel.

Kewaskum Assistant Fire Chief James Warnkey says this operation is second nature for him and his team.

"As of Nov. 20, we do an annual training with the ski facility on this exact scenario, and it was put to practice at the incident," said Warnkey. "As I look at it from time of dispatch to the time of the last person getting off the lift being 40 minutes, I find that, timewise, to be very efficient."

When the department got the call, they say Sunburst originally thought they had an equipment failure.

"The power outage was the main culprit of it. We use our auxiliary motors, and unfortunately, one of the clutches decided that he wanted to give up the ghost partway through," said Jason Wood, Sunburst Ski Hill general manager.

Yapp says the experience isn't going to stop her from hopping back on the lift.

"The nice thing about Sunburst, is like even if you are stuck, it's not like you're in the middle of nowhere. I'm not really that scared," said Yapp.

Wood says the lift has been repaired and they will continue to test the chairlift to make sure everything is running smoothly.