Roofs damaged, canopy toppled, power outages in suburbs

Unusually high February winds raced through the suburbs Friday, causing pieces of roof materials to descend to sidewalks and leading to the collapse of a gas station canopy. The National Weather Service reported gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour in some places.

No one was injured at the Marathon station at 2800 E. Higgins Road in Elk Grove Village, where the canopy covering two gas pumps fell over to one side, said Fire Chief Richard Mikel.

Firefighters learned of the collapse about 12:30 p.m. - the same time they were responding to a partial roof collapse at an office building blocks away.

About a quarter of the building's roof at 2300 E. Higgins Road was damaged by strong wind gusts that caused roofing metal, insulation and membrane to be torn from the top of the three-story building. There's a small section of the building roof where offices became exposed to daylight, Mikel said.

Some 50 to 60 employees who work at various companies within the office complex were evacuated. No one was injured. Employees who were out to lunch weren't allowed inside once they got back, as a village building inspector deemed the structure not suitable for occupancy, Mikel said.

The businesses won't be able to reoccupy the building until necessary repairs are made and the building passes an inspection, he said.

Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights also had some damage from high winds on Friday afternoon, said Michael Hartke, chief operating officer.

A few pieces of aluminum trim were dislodged from the side of the building along Central Road and damaged four windows at the hospital, he said.

A few patients were moved because of the damage, but no one was injured.

Arlington Heights police closed Central Road in front of the hospital for a time to protect drivers in case additional debris came off the building, but patients and ambulances were still able to enter and exit along Kirchoff Road, Hartke said.

"It's relatively minor damage for the level of winds we've seen," he said.

In Algonquin, what was first thought to be roof damage at the Target off Randall Road actually was a case of unsecured drywall sheets on the roof being picked up and scattered over the parking lot by the winds, Algonquin Police Deputy Chief Ryan Markham said. The material was cleaned up by fire department personnel and no one was injured, he said.

In Glen Ellyn, a roughly 30-by-60-foot section of roof blew off the Seaton Computing Center at the College of DuPage about 1 p.m., spokesman Joseph Moore said. The roofing material fell back on top of the structure, not to the ground, he said.

The school immediately cordoned off the area so no one would be injured in case of further damage, but classes continued as scheduled in the computing center and on the rest of the campus.

By 4 p.m., Moore said, a roofing company was working to repair the blown-off section and the rest of the roof had been stabilized. Repairs were expected to be complete by Saturday.

In Streamwood, police reported that traffic lights were out Friday evening at Lake Street and North Avenue. Hanover Township personnel were directing traffic.

And as of Friday evening, a section of Route 12 in Wauconda was closed due to downed wires.

The National Weather Service in Chicago reported wind gusts topping out above 50 mph and in a few cases above 60 mph in the suburbs, including 64 mph in Palatine, 66 mph in Elburn, 61 mph in Waukegan, 60 mph in Rosemont, 56 mph in Cary, 54 mph in Wheeling and Hinsdale, and 58 mph at DuPage Airport.

O'Hare International Airport reported delays in the afternoon of up to 50 minutes for incoming and outgoing flights and 160 flights canceled. Midway Airport was not reporting delays.

The Chicago Fire Department shut down Chicago Transit Authority elevated train service on two lines because debris was falling onto the tracks. Authorities said debris, believed to be blowing from high-rise construction sites, forced the evacuation of two downtown office buildings.

Willis Tower closed its Skydeck attraction, saying its elevators couldn't operate in strong winds. A National Weather Service recording station three miles offshore in Lake Michigan recorded winds of 73 mph.

ComEd said the storm disrupted service to more than 258,000 customers. Around 10 p.m., ComEd announced that crews restored power to over 202,000 customers.

Suburbs with some of the largest outages included Cicero with more than 2,000, Arlington Heights with 1,800 and Melrose Park with 1,500.

Based on storms of similar size, ComEd expected power to be restored to most customers by 11 p.m. Saturday.

"We understand how frustrating a power outage can be and we appreciate our customers' continued patience," said Terence R. Donnelly, ComEd executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We expect most customers will be restored on Saturday, but some restoration times may last into Sunday depending on the magnitude of the damage. The ComEd team is committed to work around the clock to safely restore power interruptions as quickly as possible."

• Daily Herald staff writers Marie Wilson, Melissa Silverberg, Madhu Krishnamurthy and Steve Zalusky, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.