Power Returns; About 450 Customers Still Without Electricity (Updated)

UPDATED (12:31 p.m. Tuesday, June 25): Information from a ComEd spokeswoman.

High winds from Monday's storm were the major cause of the power outages, which have left around 63,000 ComEd customers without power throughout the state as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Ashley Dennison, a spokeswoman for the utility. In some areas, gusts reached as high as 75 mph, she added.

ComEd currently has 445 workers in crews out in the field in order to restore power to customers, Dennison said. Priority is given to public health and safety facilities, such as police departments and fire stations, she added.

The number of workers on the job will increase to 535 later this afternoon, Dennison said. The additional crews will be deployed to continue taking care of Monday's storm damage, as well as preparing for the possibility of more bad weather coming through in the late afternoon and evening, which could lead to additional outages, she said.  

Although she couldn't confirm when all power would be restored, Dennison said ComEd might have a specific time when customers can expect their electricity to return later this afternoon.

UPDATED (11:25 a.m. Tuesday, June 25): Information on the number of customers still without power.

Oak Forest residents are slowly beginning to see their power restored throughout the village. As of 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, only about 468 customers were without electricity in the village, according to ComEd's online power outage map. The majority of the customers were in the area from 155th to 159th streets, between Harlem and Cicero avenues, as well as just southwest of the Midlothian Reservoir, between Central and Latrobe avenues, from 159th to 163rd streets, the map indicates.

UPDATED (9:41 a.m. Tuesday, June 25): Outage map and estimated restoration times from ComEd.

As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, about 500 ComEd customers in Oak Forest still were without power, according to the utility's online power outage map. In most cases, ComEd estimated that power would be restored by noon Wednesday, June 26.

The map in this article shows the largest affected areas in Tinley Park and Oak Forest. A little more than 900 customers are without power in the areas in red on the map. The estimated time for power to be restored in those neighborhoods is noon Wednesday.
About 125 customers are without power in the blue area. ComEd is still investigating the cause of that outage and does not have an estimated time when power will be restored.
UPDATED (12:35 a.m. Tuesday, June 25): Information from ComEd.

More than 700 ComEd customers in Oak Forest were without power after Monday evening's severe thunderstorm that rumbled through the south suburbs.

As of 12:25 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, the utility's online power outage map shows 717 customers without power throughout Oak Forest. The most customers affected were in the neighborhoods between Central and Cicero avenues, from 167th to 175th streets, totaling almost 400 customers.

The second highest concentration was in the Forestview Hills subdivision, with about 150 customers affected.

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In these areas and throughout the city, ComEd was still assessing the reasons for the outages and did not have estimates on when power would be restored, according to the outage map.

Original Story (posted 8:31 p.m. Monday, June 24)

The severe thunderstorm that blew through Oak Forest and the south suburbs early Monday evening might have been brief, but it still made its presence felt with residents.

More than 250 ComEd customers in Oak Forest were without power Monday, June 24, and trees and branches littered village streets.

As of 8:15 p.m., the two areas with the most customers without power were the Forestview Hills subdivision (152) and the neighborhood between Central and Lockwood avenues, from 159th to 163rd streets (90), according to the utility's online power outage map. Smaller outage areas were spread out around the city.

ComEd was still investigating the cause of the outages and had crews on the scene, according to its website.

Trees also were reported down throughout Oak Forest, in some cases, blocking city streets. Readers reported blown over trees at 155th Street and Laramie Avenue and in the Arbor Park subdivision, near the Midlothian Reservoir.

Patch will continue to update this story.