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Live updates: Power restored to thousands; branch debris collection starts Monday

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Crews begin trying to remove trees branches blown onto powerlines during a derecho on June 29, 2023
  • Photo: Reginald Hardwick/IPM News

A derecho with winds up to 80 miles per hour and heavy rain blew through Central Illinois on June 29, 2023, causing many trees and power lines to fall. At its height more than 200,000 Illinoisans were without power. Below is a live blog with updates on outages, closures and weather conditions.

Monday evening Update

  • Ameren Illinois reports 8,584 customers without electricity. If you need to report an outage, call 800.755.5000.
  • CWLP, the municipal utility for Springfield, says 8,777 customers have no power. Report outages to 217.789.2121.
  • From NPR Illinois: City Water Light and Power Utility Engineer Doug Brown says crews have been working 17 hour days. The first priority was to make sure hospitals and nursing homes had power and main streets were cleared. Crews from New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Rochelle and Batavia, Illinois are in the city to help. They hope to have power restored to 90 percent of Springfield by Friday.
  • The city of Champaign will begin collecting storm debris on Monday, July 10 at 6:00 a.m. Logs/limbs should be 8-feet in length or shorter and less than 10-inches in diameter. Keep all debris at least 5-feet away from trees, mailboxes, poles, fire hydrants, power boxes, etc. Click here for more information.
  • All city parks in Danville are open with the exception of Lincoln Park.
  • From NPR Illinois: Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher Monday extended the Local State of Emergency in the city. The order will now remain in effect until the adjournment of the July 5 regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Sunday at 9:30 p.m. Update

  • Due to power outages Danville School District 118 Summer School will not be in session July 3. Custodians and Maintenace workers should report.  
  • Ameren Illinois reports 32,556 customers without electricity. If you need to report an outage, call 800.755.5000.
  • CWLP, the municipal utility for Springfield, says 10,178 customers have no power. Report outages to 217.789.2121.
  • Four days after a derecho blew through Central Illinois, some neighborhoods are still waiting for power to be restored.

Holly Golecki waited out the storm’s rain and 80-mile-per-hour winds with her husband and two boys in the family’s basement last Thursday.

“We actually saw the sparks flying when the tree hit the lines,” said Golecki. 

By Sunday afternoon, much of her Urbana neighborhood had gone three days without electricity.

“We do camp quite a bit, so we got out our camp coffee makers so we could still have coffee in the morning. And took down our sleeping bags to the basement where its cool. So we’ve been kind of making a camping adventure'” said Golecki.

Many driveways in Champaign, Danville and Urbana are lined with a collection of broken tree branches and trunks. Urbana 10-year-old Freyja Vandegrift is concerned about the look of the neighborhood.

“It’s sad because someone who had like one tree in their yard lost their tree and then it’s kind of scary because you don’t know what’s gonna happen because like if a tree is hanging from a wind, you don’t know if it could just snap at any moment.”

Urbana will begin collecting storm debris on Monday, but Champaign homeowners will have to wait until after July 10.

 

Tree branches lying on top of downed power lines in an Urbana neighborhood without electricity on July 2, 2023. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)
Worker cuts branches lying on top of downed power lines in an Urbana neighborhood without electricity on July 2, 2023. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)
A large birch tree lies on its side in Urbana with its roots showing days after a June 29, 2023 derecho. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)

Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Update

  • Ameren Illinois reports 48,577 customers without electricity. If you need to report an outage, call 800.755.5000.
  • CWLP, the municipal utility for Springfield, says 7,571 customers remain without electricity. Report outages to 217.789.2121.
  • Danville Public Works will begin collecting limbs, branches, and storm-related debris on Monday, July 3. Residents must call 217.431.2288 to report addresses for storm debris collection.
  • Urbana Public Works will begin picking up tree limbs and brush debris starting Monday, July 3 at 7:00 a.m. Limbs must be 8 feet or shorter and cannot be placed in the street or obstruct visibility at intersections.
  • The City of Champaign will offer short-term, storm damaged tree limb and brush pickup from private properties to assist residents in recovery efforts. Pickup dates will not occur prior to Monday, July 10.

Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Update

Friday at 6 p.m. Update

Half of Ameren Illinois customers in Vermilion County are still without power.

Tucker Kennedy is a spokesperson for Ameren. He says he hasn’t seen a storm like this in his decade-plus time at the utility company.

“This is undoubtedly the most significant, wide-ranging weather event that we have seen and has caused the most outages in the shortest amount of time,” Kennedy said.

About 2,000 workers are working to restore power throughout the state.

Despite help from 20 out-of-state utility companies, Kennedy said Ameren has to pace the work. Employees have already spent weeks working outdoors despite smog from Canadian wildfires. Now they face 90-degree heat in the aftermath of the storm.

“They’re going out into this heat with heavy equipment on, doing really intense physical work,” he said.

Kennedy said customers can expect the outages to last through Saturday.

Three of the largest nursing homes in Danville lost power during Thursday’s storm. Each had generators to provide limited electricity while they waited.

Debbie Dubois is the admissions director at Hawthorne Inn. She said they gathered residents in a common area to play games and sing.

“We just had limited lighting, so we got them all down to the Downtown Plaza. They were passing out popsicles for everybody to cool off with. We had the doors open and fans blowing,” she said.

According to Dubois, power returned around dinnertime on Thursday. Arcadia Care Danville also has power again.

But the electricity is still off at Gardenview Manor, as of Friday afternoon.

The storm has not caused any major injuries or deaths in Illinois, according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency Communications Director Kevin Sur. Six people have experienced minor injuries.

Friday at 5:30 p.m. Update

Friday at 2:30 p.m. Update

  • With many parts of Springfield still without power, cooling centers are opening in the following locations:
    • Municipal Center East, 800 E. Monroe, Mon.-Fri. 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
    • Municipal Center West, 300 S. Seventh Street, Mon.-Fri. 8:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
    • Lincoln Library, 326 S. Seventh, Mon.-Wed. 10:00a.m.-8:00p.m. and Thurs.-Sat. 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m.
    • Office of Community Relations, 1450 Groth Street, Mon.-Fri. 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m.
    • St. John’s Breadline, 430 N. 5th Street, Mon.-Fri. indoor dining 8:00am-9:00am, 10:30 am-1:30 pm, Saturday, Sunday & Holidays 10:30am-1:30pm
    • Salvation Army (Main Campus), 1600 Clear Lake Avenue Entrance on south side, off of Martin Luther King Drive, Mon.-Fri. 9:00am-3:00pm
    • Salvation Army Overflow Shelter, 221 N. 11th Street, Overnight Shelter, 7 Days a week 7:00pm- 7:00am, Day Center Mon.-Thurs. 7:00am-3:30pm
    • Washington Street Mission, 408 N. 4th Street Mon.-Fri. 7:30am-10:30am, 12:30pm-4:30pm
    • Helping Hands, 1023 E. Washington, Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-1:00pm and Sat.-Sun. 8:00am-4:30pm
  • Champaign-Urbana is also providing cooling centers with some residents dealing with prolonged power outages in the following locations:
    • Department of Human Services, 705 N. Country Fair Drive, Champaign 
    • Social Security Administration, 101 S. Country Fair Drive, Champaign 
    • Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green Street, Champaign 
    • Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green Street, Urbana 
    • Market Place Mall, 2000 N. Neil Street, Champaign 
    • Lincoln Square Mall, 201 Lincoln Square, Urbana 
    • Hospital emergency rooms 
    • Convenient care offices 

Friday at 1:30 p.m. Update

Friday at 10:00 a.m. Update

  • The Urbana School-based Health Center site will be closed until Wednesday, July 5, on Friday due to power outages. Dental patients with appointments can be seen at the Frances Nelson Clinic at 819 Bloomington Road. Other patients will be rescheduled.
  • Lake of the Woods Golf Course and headquarters are closed as crews clear trees and debris.

Friday at 8:30 a.m. Update

  • Chances of thunderstorms, including severe storms, return over the weekend.

Friday at 1:00 a.m. Update

  • Ameren Illinois reports 118,000 customers without electricity. If you need to report an outage, call 800.755.5000. 
  • The National Weather Service plans to investigate many of the storm damage sites on Friday.

Thursday at 8:10 p.m. Update

  • Ameren Illinois reports 148,000 customers without electricity. If you need to report an outage, call 800.755.5000. 
  • The Urbana School-based Health Center site will be closed on Friday due to power outages. Dental patients with appointments can be seen at the Frances Nelson Clinic at 819 Bloomington Road. Other patients will be rescheduled.
  • Widespread damage is reported after severe storms blew across Central Illinois on Thursday. Reginald Hardwick reports at least one community saw a tornado.

Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Update

Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Update

  • Because of downed limbs and branches, the Urbana Parks Department is canceling tonight’s Neighborhood Nights and Play Days in the Park. These events will not be rescheduled. Crystal Lake Park Family Aquatic Center is also closed for the rest of the day.
  • Danville Public Works will begin collecting limbs, branches, and storm-related debris on Monday, July 3. Residents must call 217.431.2288 to report addresses for storm debris collection.

Thursday at 5:45 p.m. Update

  • Ameren Illinois reports 173,463 customers without electricity. 
  • The National Weather Service in Lincoln says the severe weather has now exited the state into Indiana. And no thunderstorms are anticipated beyond 5:00 p.m.
  • Multiple semis rolled over on I-57 due to high winds, causing minor injuries. Illinois State Police is on the scene and diverting those driving south to the Tuscola exit. Downed power lines are blocking all lanes of I-55 at Lincoln. Traffic is being rerouted along I-74 in Farmer City, where there is extensive storm damage.
  • The Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District is rerouting some buses to avoid flash flooding and downed trees. You can check the new routes on mtd.org.
  • Flights in and out of Willard Airport in Savoy have been canceled for the afternoon. The airport has a power outage. The roof of the commercial terminal was also damaged.
  • In Farmer City, 30 miles northwest of Champaign, Meteorologist Andrew Pritchard says there is roof damage and extensive tree damage after a tornado there.

Downed tree along Branch Road near Mattis and Duncan in Champaign (Christine Herman)Downed tree closes Lincoln Avenue at Stoughton Street in Urbana. (Reginald Hardwick/IPM News)Downed trees in Champaign (John Steinbacher)Downed tree branch along E Michigan Ave. in Urbana (Jim Meadows/IPM News)

 

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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM