Portion of Fox River closed to boaters

Traffic slows through standing water along Route 176 in Crystal Lake Tuesday morning. Heavy rains overnight flooded many McHenry County streets. (Shaun Sartin photo) Have photos of flooding? Send them to mweiler@nwherald.com

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The Fox River has been closed to boaters from the Algonquin Dam to the Statton Lock and Dam.

The Fox Waterway Agency received notice from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources this afternoon that conditions for navigation warrant restrictions on the Fox River.

According to the IDNR, severe high water conditions exist and the Johnsburg gauge has exceeded 4.5 inches.

From the Stratton Lock and Dam north to the mouth of Pistakee has been designated a "No Wake" zone.

All boaters are encouraged to watch out for floating debris and other high water obstructions.

Rita Lee, project manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said the river received about 7 inches of rain in the last 72 hours. Lee also said that swift currents and large amounts of debris have resulted in hazardous water conditions.

The boating restrictions come as some McHenry County residents are spending today pumping as much as 14 inches of water from flooded basements and tossing destroyed belongings after storms rolled through the area early this morning.

Severe flooding and hazardous driving conditions were reported throughout McHenry County. Several residents were still without power Tuesday afternoon.

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ComEd spokesman Tom Stevens said there were more than 20,000 power outages statewide as of at 5 a.m. About 4,300 customers in the ComEd’s Rockford region, which includes McHenry County, were still without power this afternoon. Stevens said ComEd workers were working to restore power to all customers.

Rockford was hit with the worst of the flooding, with nearly six inches of rain falling in about an hour. Hundreds of homes and dozens of streets were flooded, and officials kept a close eye on the Alpine Dam.

Woodstock, McHenry and Crystal Lake were among the hardest hit areas in McHenry County National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Halbach said the some portions of McHenry County received more than 4 inches of rain. Woodstock reported 4.35 inches of rain.

Woodstock firefighters were out early this morning going house to house to check on reports of basement flooding and called ComEd to shut off power to prevent any type of explosions from occurring.

Police had blocked and closed several streets in Woodstock, including Tappan and Ash, due to the flooding.

In Crystal Lake, there were reports of several downed tree limbs and flooded streets.

Cathy Guenther, who lives on the southwest side of Crystal Lake, said the storm knocked down a weeping willow tree that towered over her tri-level home.

“This was probably the biggest tree in my neighborhood, Guenther said. “We always knew that it would come down one day, and last night was the night.”

Guenther said no one was injured, and the tree’s falling caused no damages to her home.

Cary firefighters responded to 1600 Mink Trail about 3:30 a.m. for a house that had been struck by lightning, said Chief Jeff Macko.

He added the house belonging to one of the department’s fire lieutenants sustained minimal damages. No one was injured in the incident and the house did not catch fire, Macko said.

“Lightning struck the peak over the garage, Macko said. “But it is still habitable.”

Woodstock fire rescue workers had to free three people from their vehicles due to street flooding, according to Deputy Chief Terry Menzel.

Rescue workers responded to 47 Center St. and the intersection of Greenwood and Tappan streets this morning for drivers who tried to navigate through the flooded streets and got stuck.

There were also reports of downed wires on Queen and Donovan avenues in Woodstock.

Menzel said firefighters had reports of about 70 houses with flooded basements.

Menzel also said that Woodstock firefighters assisted Hebron with a house fire at about 3:15 a.m.

Hebron Fire Chief Lloyd Laufer said the house at 14419 Nichols Road caught fire after it was struck by lightning about 2:40 a.m. Firefighters from Richmond, Wonder Lake and Spring Grove assisted in battling the blaze. Laufer said that family members were able to evacuate the two-story home, adding that the fire and smoke caused more than $50,000 in damage. The fire was contained to the basement and first floor of the home, the chief said.

The National Weather Service’s Halbach said this type of weather is not unusual for this time of year, adding that McHenry County and northern Illinois could still see more thunderstorms this week.

“August is one of our wettest months,“ Halbach said. “There is a cold front moving through and we have a flash flood warning for the northern region until Thursday.”