LITH Residents, Businesses Hit Hard By Storms, Power Outages

Siding ripped from homes, downed trees and broken windows is the hand dealt to residents living in the 2100 block of Litchfield Lane on Monday morning.

Debbie Rupp, of 2140 Litchfield Lane, Lake in the Hills, said the wind gusts of 70 mph or greater from Monday morning’s storm catapulted her neighbor’s hot tub cover across their street and into the Rupp’s fence — ripping it off.

“Other than that, we were lucky. Just a lot of dirt and debris all over,” Rupp told Patch Monday afternoon.

Some of her neighbors were worse off with downed trees, broken patio sets and grills, and siding ripped from their homes. Similar damage was reported throughout Lake in the Hills and McHenry County on Monday.

“Those affected were out picking up and determining what damage had been done,” said Rupp of her neighborhood.

Village of Lake in the Hills Responds

The Lake in the Hills Public Works Department worked throughout the day Monday to open the village’s roads.

Downed power lines continued to block some streets Monday evening, according to a press release.

The village is reminding residents not to pass through barricaded areas, to use caution around damaged power lines and at 1-800-Edison-1 or visit ComEd’s website. For information on how to dispose of downed tree branches or trees, visit here.

In response to the power outages throughout LITH, village hall has opened its doors as a 24-hour cooling center.

The village’s public water supply has not been affected by the power outrage, according to the news release.

“Some of the village’s water treatment facilities are operating on backup power plants designed to keep them operating properly throughout this type of incident,” the news release said.

Businesses Deal With No Electricity

In Lake in the Hills, the most significant power outages occurred east of Randall Road. 

The Lake in the Hills Airport, 9607 Pyott Road, continued to be without electricity Monday evening.

Several other businesses and homeowners along Pyott Road reported power outages Monday, including .

“Many folks along Pyott are outside as they are without lights in their businesses,” said Kristi Adkinson, owner of Free Spirit, in an email to LITH Patch on Monday morning. “We get good airflow with our door open and have natural sunlight. We are still boarding (dogs) …”

Linda Meyer, of , said her business at 9231 S. Route 31 didn’t have power or water for part of the day. She was back up and running by 2 p.m.

“It did affect our business slightly,” Meyer told LITH Patch.

Sandy Oslance, director of the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce, said while the power was on at their office at 2114 W. Algonquin Road, the Internet was out.

“It’s just one of those days where you realize how much we rely on technology,” she said Monday afternoon.

She was working from home Monday and hadn’t heard word yet on specific businesses affected Monday by the storms and power outages.

343 N. Randall Road, was standing room only Monday as those without power or Internet worked from the coffee shop.

ComEd Continues to Respond to Power Outages

ComEd is calling Monday’s storms and subsequent power outages one of the worst on record. 

“It’s one of the worst storms we’ve seen in the last 10 years,” a representative said. 

Storms blew through Chicagoland Monday morning, leaving trees down and power out. At the height of the problem, 765,000 were in the dark. The northern region was the hardest hit with 298,000 customers affected.

As of 2 p.m., ComEd had restored power to 20,000 customers in the northern region. 278,000 remain without power.

A total of 578,000 are still without power across the entire Chicago area. A company representative said it could take days before everyone has electricity again.