MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle said he's concerned by the state's response to an interstate traffic backup that left thousands of motorists stranded in a snowstorm Wednesday night.

TALKBACK: Tell Your Story

Doyle said authorities initially failed to understand the severity of the backup. The governor said he didn't learn about the situation on Interstate 39-90 until about 7 p.m. Wednesday. By then, many motorists said they had been stranded for several hours. Authorities said the initial blockage started around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

"I have very significant questions, like I think most everybody does who has seen this now and saw what happened," Doyle said. "It's clear to me that the gravity of the situation was not recognized for some period of time."

Doyle said he wants to know how 911 calls from motorists were handled and who was responsible for assessing the problem.

WISC-TV obtained recordings of calls to 911 dispatchers that point to some confusion among emergency responders.

"I don't live close by, but I have a friend that could come pick me up," one caller told a Dane County 911 dispatcher.

"I honestly don't know what the plan is," the dispatcher responded.

Doyle said he also wants to know at what point it was determined that this was more than just a routine traffic incident.

"If this had been building up all afternoon and into the early evening, maybe people up the line of command should known this hours earlier than when it was known," Doyle said.

He said he wants the report to review whether authorities could have given greater warnings for people to avoid the stretch of highway between Madison and Janesville.

Doyle said he expects a full report by Adjutant Gen. Donald Dunbar on the emergency response by the end of next week.

Doyle said he is not ready to place blame on communications or jurisdictional issues. He said the problem could even have been the grade of the road at a hill where many semitrailers became stuck.

The governor said his main objective is not to point fingers or to place blame. He said he simply wants to find out what went wrong so it never happens again.

Officials estimated that 2,053 vehicles were stranded Wednesday. Authorities said that there were 653 passenger vehicles and 689 semitrailers heading westbound just south of Janesville up to Edgerton. In the eastbound lanes, authorities said that 134 passenger vehicles and 567 semitrailers were stranded.

Doyle called a state of emergency to have National Guard troops help motorists late Wednesday night. About 70 National Guard troops on snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles checked on the stranded motorists early Thursday morning. They delivered fuel, food, water and blankets to some of those stuck. The Guard soldiers made three separate trips on four-wheel drive vehicles to run motorists 7,000 bottles of water and more than 400 ready-to-eat meals, officials said.