Power Outage in Fairfield, IL

A power pole was knocked down.

Emergency management personnel estimated sustained winds were 40 to 45 mph with gusts above 60 mph. Trees and power lines were down across the county. Generators were being utilized in Fairfield, where the doors were blown open at the health department.

Trees were blown down in Fairfield. Falling trees brought down power lines on U.S. Highway 45 just south of town.

A wind gust to 64 mph was measured with a portable anemometer several miles northwest of Wayne City. West of Fairfield, trees were uprooted and power lines were down in a concentrated area along Illinois Route 15.

Power lines were blown down in the city.

The microburst downed several trees and numerous tree limbs. A small shed was destroyed. Two wooden power poles were broken. The microburst began just west of County Road 600E and continued along and north of County Road 8 for approximately 1.25 miles. The width of the microburst about 750 yards.

This tornado touched down on the southwest side of Sims. It quickly intensified and destroyed a double wide mobile home on the northeast side of Sims. The tornado continued northeast and crossed Highway 15, producing tree and power pole damage. The tornado moved east across the Wayne County landfill, damaging the building on the grounds. The tornado continued into the north side of Fairfield, producing mainly minor damage to homes. Peak winds in this tornado were estimated near 135 mph. The maximum intensity was on the northeast side of Sims.

A couple of trees were felled in a cemetery. Tree limbs were knocked down around the city. A tree fell on a power line, knocking out power for several hours in the city.

Tree limbs were down on power lines.

One house was destroyed, with part of the roof removed and separation of some walls. A machine shed and several grain bins were destroyed. About a dozen power poles were snapped. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted. A tank was blown about 150 yards. An outbuilding was blown across Route 15. The average path width was 100 yards. Peak winds were estimated near 120 mph.

The damage swath extended from Orchardville along and north of Highway 161 to a mile northeast of Mount Erie. Much of the damage was near Cisne, where a house porch was damaged, a large outbuilding was destroyed, and a sign was damaged. A couple of barns and garages were blown over or destroyed. There was minor damage to a couple of sturdier buildings, including a church steeple in Orchardville. Several trees and power lines were down. A power pole was blown over.

The damage swath extended from Orchardville along and north of Highway 161 to a mile northeast of Mount Erie. Much of the damage was near Cisne, where a house porch was damaged, a large outbuilding was destroyed, and a sign was damaged. A couple of barns and garages were blown over or destroyed. There was minor damage to a couple of sturdier buildings, including a church steeple in Orchardville. Several trees and power lines were down. A power pole was blown over.

Numerous branches from 6 to 8 inches in diameter were blown down at the high school. A couple of trees were blown down across power lines.

Wind damage was widespread in and around Fairfield. The most severe damage was in the Fairfield Municipal Airport area, where a crop-dusting company's hangar collapsed onto three airplanes. Metal from the building blew across a highway and wrapped around a stop sign. A metal storage building across from the hangar was destroyed. Just north of the hangar, the roof was partially peeled off an auto body shop, and a corner of a residential garage was damaged by flying debris. A mobile home was shifted off its foundation about a half mile north of the airport. Metal debris was tangled in power lines near the airport. The roof was peeled off an agribusiness about two to three miles north of Fairfield. The roof of radio station WFIW was partially ripped off. The steeple was blown off a church and through the front of the building while it was in session, but nobody was hurt. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted across Fairfield, and several television antennae were snapped. Many of the downed trees were weak or shallow-rooted trees. There was underpinning and shingle damage to other homes in Fairfield. A train ran into downed tree limbs across railroad tracks, causing minor damage to the train and forcing the closure of most railroad crossings in Fairfield for two hours. A National Weather Service damage survey indicated straight-line winds from 70 to 80 MPH were responsible for the damage, which was oriented from southwest to northeast. Relatively light damage occurred in rural areas between Fairfield and the Hamilton County line, where a barn was destroyed and a couple of homes were damaged. A person near the Hamilton County line photographed an apparent "gustnado," and numerous other citizens on the northern edge of Fairfield reported apparent gustnadoes.

Trees and power lines were blown down. Two trees landed on houses. Roofing was blown off a business. Large tree limbs were blown down, including one that landed on a garage and another on a truck. Some shingles were blown off houses.

Numerous trees, power lines, and power poles were blown down. Some fell on houses and cars. The hardest hit area was from Cisne to Mount Erie. Significant roof damage was reported throughout Geff. U.S. Route 45 at Geff was closed about two hours after dozens of trees were blown down and power lines fell across the road. Near Mount Erie, a truck loaded with hazardous materials was struck by a falling tree, but there were no injuries.

In addition to dime size hail, numerous tree limbs were down on power lines.