Central Lake County bouncing back after tornado
It was just Sunday night when Tony Karlatiras heard what he said sounded like a war zone outside his venerable restaurant near Grayslake, with debris flying and his building's roof being torn apart by wind.
But restoration crews and roofing workers helped Bake's Sports Themed Restaurant and Bar on Route 45 in unincorporated Wildwood quickly get back on track, allowing it to reopen Tuesday afternoon. The effort also included bringing in fresh food, sanitizing the eatery and checking the air conditioning unit.
“All the employees, they're happy, they have their jobs back,” Karlatiras said outside the 26-year-old establishment. “So, it should be fine.”
Bake's, other businesses and homeowners were bouncing back in the aftermath of Sunday's EF-1 tornado that cut a narrow path across central Lake County. The twister left a swath about 7½ miles long and 300 yards wide, according to the National Weather Service.
Emergency officials say no fatalities or injuries were reported.
Karlatiras complimented his “very, very sharp” insurance carrier with fast claim approvals and responsive companies to expedite the cleanup and repair process. He said he's fortunate the damage wasn't worse.
“I have seen war zone pictures and I thought we were in one of them, especially seeing the debris flying from the field, from the business next door, and then seeing the roof flying over our own building,” he said.
At Grayslake Central High School, it was business as usual Tuesday with summer band camp being held near the building. Sunday's high winds damaged part of the school's roof, wiped out the visiting team's dugout at the baseball field and knocked down a section of outfield fencing.
Grayslake High School District 127 Superintendent Catherine Finger said roof repairs are expected to be finished by Friday. She said Grayslake Central remains on track to open for freshmen orientation Monday and begin the 2015-16 academic season for all students Thursday, Aug. 13.
“We're going to be awesome,” Finger said. “Ready to roll.”
No openings over the school resulted from the roof damage because heavy layers remained intact, she said, meaning there was no wind or water damage inside the building. Finger credited District 127's supervisor of facilities and grounds, Ron Kay, with quickly arranging the needed repairs late Sunday.
On Lake Street across from Grayslake Central, a pile of roofing from the school still sat at the base of a maple tree at the home of Lance and Jenny White. They marveled at how the now-damaged tree blocked the debris from smashing into their house.
“We've got a tree guy, and he's going to try to save it,” Jenny White said.
Grayslake Fire Protection District Chief John Christian said crews from his department and Lake County officials were continuing with damage assessment Tuesday. He said Grayslake, Wildwood and Gages Lake were among the areas being examined.
“We try to ... assist our residents if they have issues with power or anything else or if there is a unique need,” Christian said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 228 ComEd customers in central Lake County still were without power, spokesman John Schoen said. All customers were expected to have power restored by early Tuesday night, Schoen said.
Roughly 54,000 customers were without juice in the northern suburbs after the storm passed through Sunday evening.
“We had 90 percent of the people back up in fairly short order,” he said.