Suburban fire departments have been working around the clock since heavy rains moved through the area Sunday, and while the water is slowly receding, there is still more work to be done.
In suburban Lyons, firefighters were forced to evacuate more than 40 people from their homes because of flooding.
“We work with Brookfield, and we had our boat and their boat in the water,” Lyons Fire Chief Gordon Nord said. “We removed at least 45 people last night, and we are still assisting people in and out of their residences so that they can go elsewhere.
Many areas in Lyons, like many other suburbs, remain flooded, and fire officials are asking residents to remain vigilant, and to remain smart, when encountering flood waters.
“If anyone has thoughts of leaving their home, they should let us know now, and under no circumstances should they walk across (strong) currents,” Nord said. “It’s very possible they could get carried away and we’d never see them.”
In nearby Brookfield, residents are starting to clean up the mess after the water began to recede Monday.
“I have lived on this block for 31 years, and this is the worst flooding I’ve ever seen,” resident Steven Lifka said. “It just kept going into every street in Brookfield. It was the worst storm I’ve seen.”
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In places like west suburban Bellwood and suburban Burbank, residents are telling a similar tale.
“I had moving water as deep as 16 inches,” Burbank resident Jeffrey Bartels said. “It was as deep as 14 inches against the garage. I’m still pumping water out of my house.”
The Bartels say that this flood isn’t anything new for them, as they suspect that the pumps at a nearby ditch reservoir didn’t get turned on in time.
“Exasperated is the big college word to use,” he said. While a dry spell potentially looms in the forecast, area residents are left looking to the skies and hoping that Mother Nature will give them a break until the water goes away
