Centralia City Firemen say a home became electrified after a power line pulled away from the weatherhead of a home as severe thunderstorms crossed South Central Illinois Monday night.
The issue caused the hot water heater to catch fire at the home of Jeffrey Borgmann in the 1100 block of South Poplar. The fire was out when firefighters arrived. There was a strong odor of natural gas, prompting firemen to stand by at the home until Ameren arrived and turned off the utilities. The electrical issue melted plastic waterlines, prompting Centralia Public Works to be called in to shut off the water.
Due to the volume of calls, all available Centralia City Firemen were called in. Firemen responded to downed power lines on fire in the 100 block of North James and behind the Washington School Apartments. The initial call had reported the apartments were on fire, but the fire was confined to the line. Additional downed power lines were reported in the 400 block of North Beech, at Noleman and Noleman, and in the 800 block of East Seventh.
The Centralia Fire Protection District was called out five times to downed power lines or electrical issues. Several lines were reported down in Central City, where 193 were without power after the storm. Another 116 were without power in the Walnut Hill area. All power was back on by Tuesday morning.
Marion County and most surrounding counties were under tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings as the storm passed. Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps followed the storm across the county, reporting strong winds that caused one large tree limb to fall across the 2200 block of Tonti Road, closing the road to traffic until it could be removed.
Salem Police reported no damage reports.
The National Weather Service is expected to be in Clinton County on Tuesday to track potential tornado tracks. A tornado spotted in Trenton caused tree limbs to fall and roof damage. Other possible touchdowns were reported in the Germantown area and outside of Carlyle. The main campus of Kaskaskia College was still without power Tuesday morning, resulting in the college canceling all classes, activities, and practices for the day.
