Five Large Power Outages and Wind Damage in Arlington Heights Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Video from three areas in Arlington Heights showing severe tree damage from high winds in the 50 mph range on March 8, 2017.

Police and firefighter/paramedics responded to numerous reports of trees down on houses, branches or trees down on power lines, and even people being blown to the ground Wednesday.

Arlington Heights police and firefighter/paramedics responded to several emergency calls related to wind damage starting Wednesday morning. The highest winds of the past three windy days occurred today. A west wind gust up to 60 mph was reported at DuPage Airport by the National Weather Service Office Chicago. O’Hare reported a wind gust of 58 mph from the west. Gary Airport reported a wind gust of 63 mph from the west.

Wheeling Chicago Executive Airport reported a peak wind gust of 51 mph. All winds are recorded as the peak wind gust in a 24-hour period.

About 11:20 a.m. Tuesday morning a tall narrow pine tree was uprooted next to a driveway on Oakton Street just east of Mitchell Avenue. The tree did not completely fall, but was tilted precariously over Oakton Street and power lines overhead. ComEd workers and police blocked Oakton Street in the area.

ComEd shut down electricity in the neighborhood so a tree crew could remove the tree safely.

At least two trees were reported down on a houses — one on South Regency Court East, and one on Maude Avenue near Walnut Avenue.

A tree also fell across Emerson Street just west of Arlington Heights Road.

Power lines fell across the roadway near Falcon Drive and Goebbert Road about 2:24 p.m. Crews on arrival reported a high power line down and cut in the roadway. Firefighters found a utility pole cracked on Goebbert Road just south of Falcon Drive. ComEd arrived on the scene by 2:37 p.m.

Major Outages Reported in Arlington Heights

Walnut/Mitchell and Oakton
Customers Affected: 222
Crew Status: Scheduling Crew
Probable Cause: Severe Weather
Estimated Restoration: Mar 8, 11:00 PM

Salem and Rockwell
Customers Affected: 70
Crew Status: Scheduling Crew
Probable Cause: Under Investigation
Estimated Restoration: Mar 8, 5:15 PM

Goebbert Rd and Falcon Dr
Customers Affected: 476 (Initially over 700)
Crew Status: Crews Working
Probable Cause: Damaged Power Line(s)
Estimated Restoration: Mar 8, 8:00 PM

Mulberry Ln and Jonquil Terrace
Customers Affected: 72
Crew Status: Scheduling Crew
Probable Cause: Severe Weather
Estimated Restoration: Assessing Damage

Maude Ave and Evergreen Ave
Customers Affected: 187
Crew Status: Scheduling Crew
Probable Cause: Severe Weather
Estimated Restoration: Assessing Damage

There were about 27 locations in Arlington Heights were damaged power lines affected about five customers each.

ComEd reported that outages peaked at 19,000 outages in Chicagoland Wednesday.

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