A storm tore through the Kankakee Valley on Friday, cutting off power to thousands and causing a number of roads to be closed. The storm also caused at least two injuries, as two boys were injured when a tree fell on them near Bass Lake and were transported to IU Health Starke Hospital for treatment.
The Bass Lake area suffered a large amount of damage from the storm. Boats were reportedly flipped over in the water or even flung up on shore, and several piers were reported to have been broken or missing entirely.
Toto Road was rendered practically unnavigable as trees blocked portions of the road. Several highways were also knocked out of commission, including State Road 39 south of the Kankakee River because of a tree blocking the southbound lane. State Road 8, one mile from State Road 39, was also reported to be blocked by a tree in both lanes.
State Road 14 was also reported inaccessible west of State Road 17 because of power lines that had fallen across the road.
Stoplights on U.S. 30 from Hamlet to Valparaiso were deactivated by the storm, and traffic was backed up as cars stopped at the light before proceeding with caution.
County Road 300 East, just south of 200 South, was reportedly closed as well because of a large tree that had fallen across the road.
NIPSCO reported all storm crews are on site throughout Indiana, taking care of areas reporting the largest number of outages first.
