Thousands Without Power After Severe Storms Blast Northwest Suburbs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Home and business owners in the northwest suburbs have a lot of cleaning up to do on Wednesday, after severe storms knocked down trees and power lines, leaving thousands without power.
According to ComEd, approximately 8,200 homes and businesses in the Chicago area were still without power as of 11 a.m. The vast majority of outages, nearly 6,000, were in McHenry County.
Fast-moving storms swept through northern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind a wide swath of wind damage in northern Kane County, southern McHenry County, and southern Lake County, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds often gusted up to 70 mph.
The village of Huntley was among the hardest hit. Village leaders were communicating on Facebook on Wednesday, telling homeowners to stay patient, because it might take several days to clean everything up.
Vincent Nuccio's house might have gotten it the worst during the storms. A large branch pierced his roof, breaking through drywall and insulation, landing less than two feet from a bed, and causing what he estimated is thousands of dollars in structural damage.
"I got a generator coming, so I don't know when the power is going to be restored. So get it covered, and hopefully insurance will be out here and take care of everything," he said.
Contractors rolled up to another house on 2nd and Church bright and early Wednesday morning. Trees not only covered the lawn, but also blocked the main door.
As crews removed storm debris, neighbors dealt with other items on the to-do list.
Ray Bober had run out for gas before dawn to keep the food fresh and the wife happy.
"You were arguing about me just recently about the generator sitting in the garage doing absolutely nothing. I says, 'Can we rest our case now?' And she goes, 'Yes,'" Bober said.
Widespread power outages prevented some people from seeing any of this damage in the dark.
"It's overwhelming," Lynn Kopfer said.
Kopfer and many other Huntley residents said they are just happy no one was injured.
Huntley residents have been advised to call private contractors to help with tree removal, because village crews might be overwhelmed. Village officials also warned homeowners to be wary of shady repair crews trying to solicit business in the wake of the storm, and to research and make sure any company you hire is reputable.
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