Village Cleans Up in Wake of Storm

Thousands of tree limbs littered area streets and driveways and 5,700 Northbrook residents were without power Wednesday after a severe storm raced through the area Tuesday evening.

The storm brought wind gusts of up to 65 miles per hour in the Northbrook and one quarter inch of rain, according to the village.

"We had 74 calls as of 7 o'clock this morning, and about 14 more since then,” said Northbrook Deputy Fire Chief Ron Schinleber. “They were about power lines down, trees into wires, and broken telephone polls. We try to put a safety zone around them, yellow tape marked by the Fire Department.”

Public Works crews were focusing their efforts on clearing roadways and intersections of debris Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release from the village. Crews would not be able to pick up branches placed in the parkways until Thursday at the earliest.

Residents are reminded to keep storm drains clear and to place branches with the butt-end facing toward the street.

A quick survey of the village revealed a swath of debris on yards and roadways.

In at least once case, a tree branch dangled from a utility line on Walters Avenue just west of Waukegan Road. Other tree limbs lay in piles, dragged there from streets and driveways by village crews and residents. 

Serious damage could be seen on Orchard Lane just west of Northbrook Junior High, where power lines and at least one severely damaged utility pole were down in an approximately block-long area. Black wires could be seen snaking across sidewalks and lawns, and the police department had taped off the scene. Several trees just west of the school, on the parkway along Maple Avenue, were also severely damaged.  

Elsewhere in the village, an upended tree trunk could be seen at the corner of Greenbriar Avenue and Cherry Lane. Village crews removed most of the tree, which fell into the intersection last night, but left part of the trunk and its stump, likely to save time to attend to other storm-damaged areas.