‘Spring Valley got hit pretty hard’ from Friday’s storm

Multiple outages were reported as thunderstorms blasted through the Illinois Valley late Friday night into Saturday morning.

While scattered outages were reported regionally, Bureau County bore the worst of it. Corn Belt Energy reported 113 outages affecting nearly 1,900 residents. Ameren reported 680 residents of Spring Valley without power.

Honestly, Spring Valley got hit pretty hard with storms last night

—  Todd Bogatitus, Spring Valley fire chief

“The storm that came through last night knocked down several power lines, large and small tree branches, and some trees,” Spring Valley Police Chief Adam Curran reported at 9:30 a.m. “There have been power outages across the entire town.”

Kirby Park was closed Saturday morning while workers dealt with some power line issues, though there were no Spring Valley roads closed as of 10 a.m.

It was a long night for Spring Valley firefighters. Fire Chief Todd Bogatitus said a furnace fire at First and Spalding streets – quickly extinguished with help from Ladd and Peru fire companies – that interrupted a string of more than a dozen calls for storm-related incidents such as tree limbs falling on cars and houses.

“Honestly, Spring Valley got hit pretty hard with storms last night,” Bogatitus said.

After clearing the scene of the furnace fire, Bogatitus and his crew resumed assisting Ameren as they tended to a high tension power line suspended over U.S. 6. The Spring Valley curves were temporarily shut down Saturday morning as workers repaired the line, which was bowed under the weight of fallen tree limbs.

The damage followed a series of storms that swept through the region after 10 p.m. Friday night. A motorist encountered a downed tree across Route 251, just north of Mendota, causing damage to their truck. A Spring Valley homeowner reported a tree falling through their roof.

Power outages were reported in Oglesby and Seneca, among other places.

Starved Rock State Park issued an alert Saturday morning that La Salle Canyon is only accessible to hikers leaving from the lodge or Visitor Center. The red-marked river trail east of La Salle Canyon to Owl Canyon staircase is closed until further notice due to severe storm damage.

Visitors who parked at the Parkmans Plain lot off Route 71 may not access La Salle Canyon to the west but can access trails to east towards Hennepin Canyon.

Forecasters had warned that the three-day heat event – temperatures soared into the 90s Wednesday and peaked in the upper 90s on Friday – might be followed by storms.

As the National Weather Service had explained it, the blistering heat that settled over the South and Southwest had migrated east and was projected to at least graze the Great Lakes region, ensuring torrid but transient heat – the Hegeler Carus Mansion canceled an outdoor performance Friday evening – but also introducing thunderstorms as cooling conditions entered.

That indeed played out. A 50-mph gust was clocked at 9:54 p.m. Friday southwest of Tampico and large limbs were reported both in Walnut and Hennepin.

The silver lining is the storms have ushered in a reprieve for those who had wilted in the recent heat.

“Going forward, there will be drier air coming in for the remainder of the weekend with temperatures near normal continuing through Monday,” said David Cousins, meteorologist with the Quad Cities.

Warmer, more humid air will arrive Tuesday through Friday – but with no 90-degree days spotted in the 10-day forecast – and possibly more rain later this week.