St. Charles North takes it on the chin

Rachel Neuneker and her friend Cayla Hohensee screamed in terror.

The power had just gone out, and then they heard a knocking on the door.

As the 14-year-old girls ran to the basement, frantically searching for Rachel's cell phone, Rachel looked out her back window toward the deck and saw something she described as unreal.

A large oak tree, which usually provided shade and protection from the elements, was toppling over and threatening to destroy the home.

"We thought the tree was going to fall on the house," she said. "It was crazy. We're laughing about it now, but it was crazy."

The tree fell short of the house and instead shattered a deck table and crushed a basketball hoop. Two steel deck chairs were mangled as the tree was partially uprooted and split near its base.

The girls and their families were among many residents and crews cleaning up Tuesday after heavy storms wreaked havoc throughout the region Monday night, including causing nearly $500,000 in damage to St. Charles North High School. Other local townships also dealt with heavy storm damage after a storm which caused problems from Aurora to Wrigley Field.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Bloomingdale during the storms. Forecasters said winds of at least 70 miles per hour were reported in the St. Charles area, but meteorologist Bill Nelson said no teams were sent out to determine whether a tornado touched down because they usually wait for extensive structural damage before investigating. The office covers 23 counties in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.

Although there was plenty of damage at North High School, St. Charles Unit District 303 Superintendent Don Schlomann said insurance should cover the damage. It should take two weeks to fix, but he said he does not expect repairs to delay the school's Aug. 27 opening date.

Repairs were definitely high on the list for Rachel's father, Devin Neuneker, who was at dinner with his wife, Julie, when the storms rolled in.

He said the tree overlooking his home on a private drive off Burr Road outside St. Charles had always been a concern but it had looked healthy enough to withstand the elements.

As they made their way back home, a fallen tree blocked the road, forcing them to double back.

"It seemed like it took forever to get home," Julie said. "It's just amazing how much Mother Nature can do in five to 10 minutes."

Devin estimated the storm caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to his deck and yard.

"It looked like a war zone," he said.

Structural engineers at St. Charles North are determining the extent of damages, which were initially believed caused by a lightning strike. Further investigation showed it was, instead, caused by straight crosswinds, said St. Charles Assistant Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet.

The storm bent several support beams that hold up portions of the roof. About 10 heating, ventilation and cooling units on the roof were either damaged or blown completely off the roof.

The suction created by the storm's winds knocked a portion of the building that's known as the mechanical penthouse off its moorings and slammed it back down. The metal grid that holds the ceiling tiles in place is bent upward, showing the amount of pressure inside the building when the storm struck.

Most of the water damage was confined to ceiling tiles, but Schlomann said mold should not be a concern as cleaning crews and dehumidifiers are taking care of the mess. A temporary roof will be installed to guard against any additional water infiltration while the damage is repaired. Outside, the scoreboards on the ball fields were down, the football goal posts were toppled and the fence around the baseball diamonds was felled.

Don Bryant, director of the Kane County Office of Emergency Management, said the office took nonstop calls about the storms on Monday.

"Yeah, it was a busy night," he said. "Everything from traditional trees and power lines down to lightning and roofs being ripped off schools."

Bryant said such storms should remind residents that these things come unexpectedly.

"Now's the time to start thinking about the next time around and to make sure they have a plan on what they're going to do next time this happens," he said.

He said families should have safe zones pointed out in their homes as well as a cache of supplies, including battery-powered radios, a flashlight, extra medication and water.

Campton Township Highway Commissioner Sam Gallucci said Monday's storm ranks right up there with the worst storms he's seen in his eight years on the job.

His crew of 11 began cleaning up the township's 140 miles of road on Monday night during the storm.

"It's a place where you don't want to be," he said. "I was in a big truck but I've seen wind that can pick a truck up. There's no safe place, really."

Other damage in the area:

• The Batavia Fire Department fought a fire caused when lightning struck a corn crib on property at Bliss and Seavey roads Monday night. They evacuated the resident as a precaution until the fire was out. Heat from the flames melted lawn furniture on the porch.

• About 180 houses in the central part of Sugar Grove near Main and Snow streets and about 40 houses in the Hannaford Farms subdivision were without electricity Tuesday. The village opened a cooling station at the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District at 25 S. Municipal Drive to accommodate residents without power. It will remain open until power is restored. According to Sugar Grove Public Works Director Anthony Speciale, ComEd is assessing the damage and it may take two to three days for power to be restored.

• The storm tore off roof shingles at the village hall and the Sugar Grove Fire Protection District fire house and caused damage to homes on Bastian, Main, Cross and Snow streets as well as Arbor Avenue and other thoroughfares.

• There was damage to the fence at the Settler's Ridge water treatment plant and to the soffit under the ease of Well 9 water treatment plant just south of the village hall.

• A ComEd spokesman said about 2,100 customers were without power in Aurora. There was no estimate as to when power will be restored.

• Power was almost restored early Tuesday afternoon to approximately 3,000 residents of North Aurora who had lost electricity. North Aurora Fire Department Chief Steve Miller said the department had 29 calls during the storm, mainly from residents without power.

• According to Elburn Fire Department Chief Kelly Callaghan, the department received numerous calls concerning downed utility wires from tree branches knocked down by powerful wind gusts. He was not aware of any basement flooding. As of early Tuesday afternoon, all stoplights were working.

• Daily Herald staff writers James Fuller, Nancy Gier and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.

Storm: Numerous power outages in area