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Cary, Crystal Lake feel storms worst in the Fox Valley

The greatest damage in the Fox Valley from Monday morning’s storms came in McHenry County, with various municipalities reporting problems of their own.

Cary and Crystal Lake were among the hardest hit areas. Crystal Lake Deputy Fire Chief Paul DeRaedt said there were several reports of high-velocity winds that felled many trees, including two reports of trees falling onto houses.

Several subdivisions in Crystal Lake remained without power late in the afternoon — an estimated 11,000 customers as of 4 p.m. — most of them in the northwest and eastern portions of the city.

In Elgin, as many as 18,000 people remained in the black Monday afternoon, said Elgin Fire Battalion Chief Bryan McMahan. He said he was just starting his workday that morning when the sky turned black, the gusts picked up and, eventually, the lights went out.

McMahan said the fire station had to resort to backup generator power. “We’re just waiting here like everybody else,” McMahan said.

Other parts of the area did not sustain as much damage. The St. Charles area suffered a few power outages in isolated areas, but Glynn Amburgery, electric and communications manager for the city, said everything was restored within an hour after the storm ended.

Batavia also had power outages; Gary Holm, director of public works, said less than 20 people were out of power.

West Dundee had minor outages.

“For most of the part, we fared pretty well,” said West Dundee Village Manager Joseph Cavallaro. Around 10:30 a.m. Monday, some 500 homes were without power. Kevin Burke, administrative services supervisor at West Dundee, added that streetlights were out on routes 31 and 72. Portions of U.S. Route 20 in Elgin were also shut down for short periods of time.

Algonquin Deputy Police Chief Steve Kuzynowski said there were no major power outages in the village other than streetlights, notably on Route 31.

“We were pretty lucky to get spared the worst of the storm, unlike some of our surrounding communities,” Kuzynowksi said.

  A massive tree was toppled in the Village of Algonquin Cemetery Monday morning after a line of thunderstorms hit the Fox Valley. Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com