Over 16K without power in western suburbs after communication tower hits power line

More than 16,000 ComEd customers in Chicago’s western suburbs were without electricity on Friday after a communication tower fell on a power line, the electric utility said.

In a post on X, ComEd explained a communication tower fell on a transmission line in Carol Stream, causing service to be interrupted for more than 25,000 customers. As of Friday afternoon, crews were working “to restore impacted customers as safely and as quickly as possible.”

By approximately 6:20 p.m., power had been restored to approximately 9,000 customers.

The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, in a Facebook post, urged residents to avoid the area of St. Charles and Schmale roads due to downed electrical lines.

A majority of outages were reported in Carol Stream, but nearby communities, such as Glen Ellyn, Winfield and Wheaton were also affected, as shown on the utility’s outage map.

Cooling centers were open at the following locations for those seeking relief from heat during the outage:

• Fountain View Recreation Center — 910 N. Gary Ave — Open until 10 p.m.
• Carol Stream Village Hall — 500 N. Gary Ave — Open until 10 p.m.

The outages had a ripple effect across the communities, forcing some businesses and park district facilities to be closed for a portion of the day.

Coral Cove Water Park was forced to close for the day, the Carol Stream Park District said on Facebook, and multiple other facilities and programs were impacted.

ComEd urges customers to check its OutageTracker for the latest updates and estimated restoration times.