In baseball you get three strikes. With lightning it only takes one to cause harm and that is why the city of Yorkville is improving safety near the city’s ballparks.

Yorkville is completing upgrades to its lighting detection alarm services with new state-of-the-line equipment.

Currently, there are seven lightning detector units placed strategically throughout the town to warn people at the highest-visited parks of an impending dangerous storm.

The goal is to alert families, coaches and kids as quickly as possible.

When the alert goes off, anyone in the vicinity should cease operations and activities and seek immediate shelter.

Last year, the town replaced faulty and outdated lightning detectors at the playing fields at Beecher Park, Riverfront Park and at Yorkville Intermediate School.

With a $47,200 purchase of equipment and software from Perry Weather, the city is installing the upgraded alarm services at the town’s remaining four large parks, including at Bristol Bay, Rotary Park, Bridge Park, and Raintree Park, which also covers Yorkville Middle School.

Tim Evans, director of parks and recreation, said the new alert systems have increased safety since they began replacing units last spring.

“It has been an outstanding thing for notifying our staff, coaches and the high school, using the app and linking to our phones,” Evans said during the Dec. 9 city council meeting. “The other [older units] continue to give us major maintenance issues.”

The parks and recreation department recently launched a new app.

Once the new units are installed, all people attending sporting events, special events and those just enjoying the parks will be notified of potentially dangerous weather.

“It takes the guesswork out of monitoring potential lightning situations and allows for quick notification to mass groups of park users,” Evans said in city documents.

The older systems were at least 15 years old, with reliability issues potentially affecting safety announcements during athletic leagues and team play.

City staff have been impressed by how accurate and efficient the new equipment and software have been in maximizing safety and ensuring quick and accurate communication between the city and park users.