Power Failure Darkens Neighborhoods with a North Woods Look for One Night
Palatine police and firefighter/paramedics responded about 2:00 AM Saturday to a report of a blown transformer and flash with power failure near Wilke Road and Thomas Street Palatine, IL. Arlington Heights and Palatine Police and Palatine firefighter/paramedics received a report that a large flash occurred on the west side of Arlington Heights near Thomas Street. Northwest Central Dispatch also received several calls of power-related problems in the area. Palatine Fire Department Tower 83 found the trouble on Thomas Street, just west of Wilke Road.
Palatine Fire Department Tower 83 on Thomas Street, just west of Wilke Road, checking power lines and transformers before ComEd arrived on the scene.
Power was interrupted for at least 1,300 ComEd customers — mostly in the Hasbrook neighborhood of Arlington Heights overnight. In Palatine, power was also interrupted in all homes between Route 53, Wilke/Route 53 frontage, Wilke Road and Northwest Highway.
The power outage started about 2:00 a.m. in an area approximately bordered by Thomas Street, Evergreen Avenue, Palatine Road, and a western border including street lights on Route 53. Some areas north of Palatine Road, west of Kennicott Avenue, and some areas south of Thomas Street on both sides of Wilke Road were also affected. Palatine Road and Kennicott Avenue traffic signals were dark with drivers traveling through the intersection without caution before Arlington Heights police arrived on the scene.
Estimated restoration was 4:00 a.m. and the cause of the problem was believed to be a fallen tree limb, according to ComEd’s outage map. The size of the outage was reduced to 126 customers in the area just west of Wilke Road after the wider outage was corrected.
ComEd was on the scene by 3:00 a.m. Saturday at Thomas Street and Wilke Road, just west of Wilke Road. The situation was corrected by 5:00 a.m. (likely earlier, before the ComEd map was checked).
Earlier, about 8:50 p.m. Friday, Arlington Heights firefighters were checking on a smoke odor investigation or a similar problem in the 1700 block of North Chestnut Avenue. Firefighters checked a house with a thermal image camera for hidden heat or fire. It is unknown if a power surge related to the subsequent power failure may have caused the problem at the home on Chestnut Avenue. No confirmation on the exact problem that was reported by the homeowner or what was discovered by firefighters.
Map of area of cause of major power failure in Arlington Heights and Palatine …
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