Full Notification

Great news and some bad news. The great news for Burr Ridge is that no one was injured, no houses were lost, and the severe tree damage from last evening’s tornado winds was concentrated in about an eight square block area in the southwestern part of the Village from about 79th to 87th Streets, from just west of Madison to County Line Road with some damage also in the Arrowhead area. I drove and walked these areas this morning with Village Administrator Evan Walter and spoke to a few residents. Parkview, Braemoor, and Lake Ridge subdivisions along with blocks bordering Madison Street south and north of 83rd Street were the worst-impacted areas. Many large trees were uprooted or severely damaged – miraculously, missing houses almost everywhere.

Some bad news included a few trees and large braches hitting residential roofs with evident damage to a few roofs. There was the downed transformer west of Madison at 83rd and one large uprooted tree blocking all of 82nd Street that had become entangled with downed power lines. It could have been worse. I saw neighbor’s already helping neighbors to clear areas and drag branches to the curbs.

Today, I signed a 7-day emergency declaration that will allow staff to make emergency purchases to clean up the town. These emergency purchases and engagements will include staff hiring tree services, renting equipment, paying overtime (Public Works and Administration staff have been out since 3:00 AM Monday morning) and otherwise use their judgment to solve the most serious problems first. All expenditures will go to the Board for review, explanation and approval at a subsequent Board meeting. These expenses will be submitted to the state for reimbursement under various emergency grants that may apply. A big thank you to Glendale Heights for their prompt offer to assist by sending a crew equipped with a chipper and truck.

It appears our neighboring municipalities to the west, Naperville, Woodridge and Darien and parts of Willowbrook also had significant areas of damage. I have not heard of any significant injuries or deaths in those communities.

This Friday, June 25, the Village will have a tree and branch pick-up for residents living between 79th and 87th Streets from Madison to County Line Road as well as Arrowhead subdivision at this time. Residents in these areas should bring trees and branches to the curb by this Thursday evening (June 24); any living material that fell in the storm will be collected. This is a great time to help your neighbors, especially the elderly. If you have building debris (e.g. roof tiles, wood trim), you will have to place it in garbage bins and arrange with Groot for pick up. Staff is contacting Groot for better coordination information and we will provide it through the Village web site and email advisories when it is known to us.

First COVID and now tornado winds. We continue to be tested. Hang in there and lend a helping hand.