© Michael Schmidt~Sun-Times MediaVictoria Preacely (left), Dshanti Preacely, 8 , and Sandrihia Dickerson, 15, all of Waukegan, stand next to a traffic light that was blown down by the storm Thursday night at Grand Avenue and County Street in Waukegan.
He and he his wife herded their other four children to safety as the storm blew through.
"In my life, I've never experienced anything like that except for seeing the aftermath happen to other people," Szekely said Friday.
Although he was without power Friday, along with more than 12,000 other ComEd customers in Lake County, Szekely started the daunting storm cleanup. Trees smashed two of his cars and demolished the children's playground in the yard. There was also a lot of tree debris, he said.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, 9,800 people in ComEd's northern region, which includes Lake County, were without power, according to a ComEd spokeswoman. A total of 145,000 people had power restored Friday, she said.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, 3,000 people in Waukegan, 1,700 people in Zion and 1,100 people in Beach Park were without power, she said.
Winthrop Harbor, Waukegan, Beach Park and Zion were the parts of the county hit the hardest by Thursday's fast-moving storm.
There were multiple reports of damage from downed trees and power outages from Thursday's supercell storm, according to the National Weather Service. A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a continuously rotating updraft.
Funnel clouds were reported in Wadsworth, North Chicago and at Naval Station Great Lakes, according to the weather service.
A wind gust of 94 mph was recorded at Waukegan Harbor around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, according to meteorologist Richard Castro. Another gust came through about 10 minutes later at 73 mph, he said.
Debris from fallen trees forced Waukegan officials to close Sheridan Road on Thursday night. It reopened after midnight, according to city spokesman David Motley.
Cleanup will continue throughout the week, and ComEd is working to restore power to all the homes sometime today, he said.
In addition, ComEd is bringing four cooling buses at these four Waukegan locations: Belvidere Park, Bevier Park, Bowen Park and the fire station at 825 Golf. They are 55-passenger buses offering air conditioning and water as hot weather comes, Motley said.
Cooling centers also were set up in Winthrop Harbor at 1520 7th St., and 10th Street and Fulton. Both provided water and bagged ice.
Various buildings and homes in Waukegan were damaged, mainly near Sheridan Road, Motley said. Three homes were damaged extensively, and one man was taken to a hospital, Motley said. A tree fell on the man's car while he was moving it, Motley said. His identity was not released.
One person suffered a broken leg at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, and two campers sustained minor injuries at Illinois Beach State Park, according to Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris McCloud.
Both facilities were closed Friday due to storm damage, he said. There was "minimal damage" reported to boats at the marina, McCloud said.
About 25 people worked Friday to clean up Bowen Park in time for Sunday's Fourth of July festivities, according to Waukegan Park District Superintendent of Parks Mike Trigg.
"We're scrambling to get the south end cleaned up. There's a lot of storm debris," Trigg said.
The park district brought in two contractors to assist with the cleanup. No major damage was done to any park district building, but there were limbs and other debris at several parks on the east side of town, Trigg said.
"We'll definitely be ready in time for Sunday. It won't be detailed, but the major cleanup will be completed," Trigg said.
Crews worked to reopen roadways Friday in affected areas including North Chicago, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park and Zion.
"Initially, we had over 50 incidents with power lines down, trees on top of cars and trees through houses," said Beach Park Fire Chief Paul Tierney. "It was a heck of a storm that came through."
A few minor injuries were reported, he said.
No injuries were reported in Winthrop Harbor, according to Fire Department engineer Keenan Stone.
"We've been running all night and all day today (Friday). We've had numerous calls on downed power lines, trees sparking power lines and some gas leaks," Stone said.
Main ways were clear in both Winthrop Harbor, he said, and in Zion, according to Ron Colangelo, Zion director of department of public works and engineering.
"Our first priority is clearing streets and alley ways," Colangelo said.
The most significant damage was east of Galilee Avenue and in "sporadic spots" on the west side of Zion, he said.
Due to the amount of fallen trees and limbs, he estimated it would take a month to six weeks to complete the cleanup.
"I've been here all my life and I've never seen this many trees down," said Art Hoyt, Zion water and sewer supervisor.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter