The McHenry High School football bleachers got twisted after Sunday's storm. (Jim Dallke - jdallke@shawmedia.com)

McHENRY – On Monday, the McHenry High School football bleachers looked more like a roller coaster than football stands.



Heavy winds from Sunday's storms flipped and curled McCracken Field's away-side bleachers, which will likely require the school buy new stands, according to Barry Burmeister, McHenry High School athletic director.



"We'll probably have to replace the whole thing," Burmeister said. "Nothing is salvageable."



Burmeister got the first look at his football field Monday morning. Three-quarters of the bleachers were heavily damaged, and nearly all of the stands suffered structural damage. He wasn't sure how much new bleachers would cost, but hopes to have them in place before track season begins in March.



"It makes you realize how powerful mother nature really is," Burmeister said.



But for the most part, McHenry County escaped serious damage from the storms that wreaked havoc on some Illinois towns and suspended the Bears game for almost two hours.



Fallen trees and downed power lines cut off power for many residents, and about 2,000 county homes remained without power Monday afternoon, according to ComEd.



Carolyn Justen lives on Anne Street in McHenry and said she lost power at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Crews were working on removing trees from power lines in her backyard Monday afternoon as she remained without power.



Down the street from Justen a house suffered moderate damage to its roof and front siding after a nearby tree fell, but neighbors said the home has been abandoned for some time.

As residents begin to clean their properties and remove tree branches, Crystal Lake officials announced Monday that the city will hold a special brush collection Thursday. Residents should have any brush that they wish to be collected as a result of the wind storm moved to the parkway area in front of their home no later than Wednesday night, the release said.