It was a Fourth of July holiday weekend to forget in Columbia. 

Unfortunately, the memories will remain.

A massive storm barreled through the region shortly after 7 p.m. Friday, delivering high-speed straightline winds that knocked down trees large and small, twisted and tangled power lines, and left thousands in the dark on a sweltering summer night.

“In my 62 years on this earth, I’ve never seen a storm like that,” longtime Columbia Fire Chief Mike Roediger said. 

He said large trees fell on more than a few homes, leaving them structurally unsound.

The Columbia Fire Department, receiving assistance from Waterloo, Dupo and Prairie du Pont firefighters initially, responded more than 80 calls from Friday night through late Monday morning. 

“We had firemen with trees going through their roof, and they were going out helping others,” Roediger said. 

A few Columbia firemen stayed overnight Friday into Saturday at the fire station due to no electricity and a need to be on hand to field calls. 

Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Jim Broshears said it was “absolutely” the worst storm he’s experienced as a fireman.

“I’ve never seen that many poles and high-voltage lines down since I’ve been on the department,” he said. 

Most roads in Columbia – including the most-driven thoroughfares of Route 3, Route 158, Main Street, Metter Avenue, Cherry Street and Rueck Road – were unpassable Friday night due to large trees and/or limbs over the roadway. 

Columbia’s American Legion Memorial Park also reported massive damage, resulting in the annual July 4 Celebration being canceled. 

“It’s a public hazard to be in the park at this time,” the Columbia Athletic Association posted on Facebook, adding the park is closed until further notice. 

“The fireworks display will be rescheduled for a later date,”  The Columbia July 4 Committee stated in an announcement on Saturday. “Other features and activities associated with the event may also be rescheduled.” 

Most residents of Columbia were without power – and for the early aftermath, even phone service – as a result of this vicious storm. 

Thousands remained without electricity Saturday, when daytime temperatures reached into the upper 90s. Sunday arrived with still no signs of power, and then an army of 300 linemen arrived to work on the disaster. 

The linemen came from as far away as Kentucky and Tennessee to assist locally. Ameren Illinois and Monroe County Electric Cooperative provide power to most of the area impacted by Friday’s storm.

The City of Waterloo, which has its own utility department due to operating a power plant in town, provided four of its workers in three vehicles to assist Columbia. Waterloo also provided a backhoe, front loader and a tub grinder to cut some of the massive amount of wooden debris. 

Most residents were reportedly re-energized Monday, either in the morning or by the evening hours.

Ameren Illinois said late Monday night that severe weather caused extensive damage to the electric infrastructure throughout its 43,700-square-mile territory.   

“We know this has been a challenging time for our customers and no one wants to be without power,” said Lenny Singh, Chairman and President, Ameren Illinois. “We can’t say thank you enough to our customers and our community partners for their patience and the tremendous support they have shown our team members who have worked tirelessly to restore service in the wake of these significant weather events.” 

Power restoration efforts in Ameren Illinois service territory were nearing completion Monday evening, with approximately 10,000 customers still without service.

Ameren Illinois crews have worked around the clock to restore power to approximately 215,000 customers across the metro east.

Approximately 1,300 poles (sub-transmission and distribution) were damaged or destroyed by the storms,  Ameren said.   

The Monroe County YMCA off Route 3 south of Columbia said it sustained “considerable damage” from the storm. A gas leak was reported there, resulting in the Waterloo Fire Department responding. A portion of its roof also sustained wind damage.

“Luckily, no one was injured. As a result, the facility will be closed until further notice,” the YMCA posted on Facebook Friday night.

Helping Strays, the animal shelter located off Hanover Road just south of Columbia, sent out a plea for help Saturday for its pets housed there without power. 

Thankfully, several dogs and cats were temporarily fostered until power was restored to the shelter. 

Monroe County Public Safety Director Kevin Scheibe provided an update on county response to the storm during Monday’s meeting of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.

Scheibe said his contact with the National Weather Service reported Monroe County sustained straight line winds of nearly 85 miles per hour for about 13 minutes. He added that most gust fronts from storms last a maximum of three minutes.

He also pointed out the large trees uprooted in the area were not the result of saturated ground, as most of Southern Illinois has experienced drought conditions of late.

Scheibe also noted Ameren Illinois, which is responsible for much of Columbia’s electrical grid, was hampered in its efforts to repair downed lines in the area due to ongoing tree removal.

Scheibe said he has submitted a disaster relief petition to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. In doing so, Monroe County would be eligible for disaster relief funds from the State of Illinois. He expressed confidence in getting the petition approved since several other counties have also applied for relief due to storms Thursday through Saturday.

While there were no injuries or fatalities as a direct result of Friday’s severe weather, Scheibe described a scary situation in which an active power utility pole landed on top of a vehicle. Scheibe said emergency personnel set up a perimeter around the vehicle and communicated to the occupant to remain in the vehicle. 

The driver was trapped in the vehicle for 2.5 hours until Ameren crews could disconnect the line.

Scheibe also said the City of Waterloo has announced its yard waste disposal site at Lakeview Park will be open to Columbia and Monroe County residents for the next two weeks. 

The site is typically just for Waterloo residents. 

While the City of Columbia is providing limb pickup services for city residents, county residents who have yard waste from the storm may call the Monroe County EMA at 618-939-8681, ext. 531, to schedule pickup.

Monroe County residents are reminded the “burn ban” issued last week is still in effect, and limbs and other debris from the storm should not be burned.

Scheibe gave “big kudos” to the Monroe County Highway Department. He explained he had discussed emergency preparedness with Monroe County Engineer Aaron Metzger after tornadoes hit Monroe County on April 15.

Scheibe said the highway department provided “mutual aid” to the Columbia Department of Public Works, with county crews working into the early morning hours to clear roads which Columbia workers were unable to reach due to road blockage in the city limits or too overwhelmed to handle in a timely manner.

“Everybody works together” in Monroe County, Scheibe concluded.

Scheibe said most of the power outages were experienced from Hanover Road north.

Also on Monday morning, the City of Columbia provided a dumpster at Bolm-Schuhkraft Park for all perishable items which may have spoiled due to the lack of electricity over the weekend.

The City of Columbia set up a cooling center at Columbia Public Library on Sunday and Monday. 

In an act of generosity, Schnucks in Columbia offered free sandwiches, chips and water early Sunday afternoon to all Columbia residents impacted by the storm.

A total of 1,600 people were served by Schnucks.

Elsewhere in the county Millstadt, Smithton and areas near Hecker also reported several storm-related calls. 

Marley’s Roadhouse at the intersection of Route 158 and Triple Lakes Road near Millstadt reported two power lines in their parking lot were knocked down. 

Other portions of Millstadt reported trees, limbs and power lines down, including the intersection of East Laurel at South Breese Street. A pecan tree was also uprooted at Ott’s Tavern in downtown Millstadt.

In and near Smithton, a lightning strike was reported at the Casey’s General Store in the 400 block of North Main Street.