At 6:39 pm on April 9, 2015, the strongest of 11 confirmed tornados touched down and stayed on the ground for a 30 mile stretch. Six of the tornadoes formed from one supercell thunderstorm. One of those tornados a long track EF-4 with maximum winds of 200 mph began from near Franklin Grove (Lee County), through the northwest side of Rochelle (Ogle County), across I-39, through Fairdale (DeKalb County), and ended south of Belvidere (Boone County). This tornado caused two fatalities, both in Fairdale, and a total of 22 injuries.
Fairdale was flattened.
A slider of photos of the aftermath taken by Gracie Mott was viewed 416,453 times during the year. DeKalb County Online has been online since May of 1997. No other page or media file on this website has been viewed by so many.
Total devastation
The Fairdale tornado is the local news story of the century let lone 2015. But the story was not just the destruction as devastating as it was. The real story was the overwhelming response and support that came from DeKalb County residents and businesses for the folks in the tiny unincorporated village of Fairdale.
Unincorporated means no local government. The Village of Kirkland immediately stepped up to offer their website as the official Tornado Recovery Information repository. The Kirkland Fire Station became the logistical headquarters for the rescue mission and the Kirkland Volunteer Fire Department took a lead role coordinating the boots on the ground of the rescue efforts. Every fire department in the county and beyond took part.
Village Clerk Terri D’Amato worked virtually around the clock updating the website with the most current information. A GoFundMe page was set up with the help of Alpine Bank. Almost instantly local donations came pouring in. More than 1,200 residents quickly donated more than $125,000 for the Fairdale relief fund.
Local folks wanted to help. Not just with cash which was sorely needed. They wanted to get their hands dirty and help with the clean up.
At ground-zero Fairdale that just wasn’t feasible. Power lines were down. Debris was literally hanging from the wires and trees. Gas lines had erupted. No one without approved credentials could be allowed in town.
Volunteers removed tons of debris from densely wooded conservation easement property near Fairdale.
Rick and Jane Hoffman rural route residents just northeast of Fairdale had a mess on their hands. The tornado ‘deposited’ tons of debris and objects it collected along its path onto Hoffman’s densely wooded property (a conservation easement) near the Kishwaukee River.
After getting the OK from officials the Hoffmans asked if we could help find some volunteers for clean up. The response was overwhelming. Almost overnight 21,613 people viewed the announcement on DeKalb County Online. Tens of thousands more shared the announcement on Facebook.
Murphy’s law of what can go wrong will was in full effect. The clean up event was originally scheduled for Sunday but the weather forecast called for a 100% chance of rain. The clean up was moved a day ahead for Saturday. Any event planner will tell you that’s an attendance killer.
But on Saturday, April 18, hundreds of volunteers arrived and tons of debris was removed from the forest in short order.
DeKalb County rocks.
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