Kenosha riots leave city with $11M in damage: Fire chief

The city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, faces more than $11 million in damage from the riots that took place in August following the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig told the Police and Fire Commission on Tuesday that the damage from the week after Blake's arrest accrued more fire damage than what the city receives in a typical three-year span. 

"It’s been a very difficult past month,” Leipzig said, according to a report from the Kenosha News. “We have a record fire loss and some injuries as a result of the current events. ... You’re looking at $11 million in fire loss. To put into context, that’s three years of fire loss for us in the span of about a week. And we also sent some people to the hospital. It has not been a very pleasant month.”

Protests devolved into riots following the police shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old black man who was shot by a law enforcement officer several times at close range after he tried to enter his car during an arrest. Blake was left paralyzed by the shooting.