Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Storm Pummels Batavia, Crews Work to Clear Debris

Here are photos and details of the damages left after Sunday's powerful storm.

Power was finally restored in most parts of Batavia early Monday morning after a brutal storm ripped through the city Sunday afternoon.

At first wind gusts of 52 mph were reported in Batavia after 12 p.m. on Sunday, but then the storm picked up in intensity. Winds eventually reached 70-75 mph in St. Charles and other areas close by, according to National Weather Service reports.

The early-afternoon storm sent entire trees and tree limbs crashing down onto power lines, roads and in some cases actual houses. No serious injuries were reported.

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For those still without power, the cafeteria at , 1201 Main St., has been opened as a cooling center. The center opened at 4 p.m. Sunday after the storm and was scheduled to open today, July 2, if necessary.

The city hired a brush and limb crew to pick up debris on the west side today, July 2. Please place your brush just behind the curb and off the street for the crews to drive by and pick it up.

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The extra crew will hopefully be joined by more workers after the July 4 holiday—contractors are busy across the larger Chicago area with storm cleanup jobs.

Note: The City of Batavia will not remove brush and limbs cut by third party contractors.

Rampage on Western Avenue

One of the hardest hit areas was Western Avenue north of the high school. Residents reported more than four power line poles that were snapped or broken from McKee Street up to Fabyan Parkway.

"Power on the northwest side has been restored to all areas except for the area bounded by Western Ave., North Ave., Cypress Ave. and Navajo Drive," read a 9 p.m. Sunday update from .

West side residents began to report restored power between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Sunday on the Batavia Patch Facebook page. The snapped poles on Western affected an area bordered by Western Avenue, North Avenue, Batavia Avenue (Route 31) to the east and McKee Street to the south.

The city plans this week to permanently set replacement poles into the ground on Western. Workers initially secured poles on Sunday with guy wires.

More Reported Damages

Here's what else was going on around town, according to our readers:

  • Water Street between Main Street and Elm Street was blocked off Sunday night. A downed power line was reported on water.
  • A transformer reportedly blew on the east side. A tree went down on Washington Avenue (Route 25) and broke part of a chimney.
  • A power line went down on Wenmoth between Fabyan and McKee on Batavia's far west side.
  • Homes in the Braeburn neighborhood on the west side lost power. Some residents reported restored power within 3-4 hours after the storm.
  • The Randall 15 movie theater, 550 N. Randall Road, lost power for about 20 minutes before 1 p.m. Sunday, then power was fully restored.
  • A tree fell across Route 31 just north of Elm Street— Traffic was completely blocked until the tree was cleared.
  • Trees in many parts of the city fell in yards and damaged property.

A big thank-you goes to everyone who provided updates and photos from their neighborhoods. You are appreciated.

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