The storms of August 6, which toppled trees and left hundreds of thousands of residents in the dark, did not spare Lake County’s forests and parks.
The Holden Arboretum and numerous Lake Metropark facilities remained closed on August 9 due to storm impacts and power outages. Power outages continued to plague many residents, and a number of community organizations opened their doors to those without power or internet.
FirstEnergy: Storms can cause power outages for a week
Holden Forests and Gardens announced that the arboretum in Kirtland will remain closed until August 11. A press release said that over 100 trees were damaged and staff were working to clear paths so the arboretum could safely reopen.
The damage also extended to the arboretum’s treetop walkway, said Caroline Tait, Holden’s director of horticulture and collections. Workers removed some trees that had fallen on the attraction and assessors are currently assessing the damage.
The storms also felled around 30 trees, Tait said.
“Some of these trees are over 100 years old, that’s a significant loss,” she said. “In our landscape in general, we’re losing a lot of old, mature trees, and those are the trees that really have tremendous value in moderating temperature through shade and storing carbon.”
“Small trees take a very, very long time to reach this stage, so when a large, mature tree is lost, it really has an impact on the environment,” Tait added.
The damage was so extensive that the arboretum has brought in outside contractors to help restore it, she said. It hopes its crews can clean up and prune some of the trees so they can regenerate.
The wood that is cut down either rots or is used as seating or building material, Tait said.
“We don’t chop up the wood and then dispose of it,” she said. “The wood is still useful even in its seemingly dead state, but it’s actually a wonderful way to reuse the material so that the entire life cycle is respected.”
The park’s press release urged the public to look for further information on reopening.
Tait added that the work will be expensive. Those who wish to donate can visit holdenfg.org and click on the “You Can Help” link on the home page.
“Nature is destructive, but we also know it is resilient and we will recover,” Tait said.
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Lake Metroparks has also closed several locations as cleanup efforts continue and it waits for power to be restored. Executive Director Paul Palagyi said the Chapin Forest Reservation in Kirtland was the worst hit.
Lake County communities clean up after storms; power outages continue
“We had really big, mature trees that were healthy but were uprooted,” Palagyi said. “One narrowly missed a shelter – I mean, two feet away it would have crushed the shelter and fire pit in Chapin on the Hobart side.”
He added that the tree was healthy.
“The force was so strong that it ripped this area out of the ground,” Palagyi said.
Access to most trails in Chapin had been restored by Aug. 9, he said.
The Nature Center and Wildlife Center at Penitentiary Glen Reservation had no power and remained closed to the public on August 9. However, Palagyi said the park and at least one restroom remained open.
The farm park in Kirtland remained closed to the public until further notice. The Super Star Party on August 10th at Penitentiary Glen was also canceled.
“All of our park staff and employees, we’re all residents here as well, and of course our priority is to restore power to homes and businesses, not power to parks,” Palagyi said. “We’re doing our best to get the parks clean and accessible so people can get out, enjoy the trails and walk their dog.”
“Some of the trails will not be in the best condition, please be patient. We will take care of them as quickly as possible, but we are prioritizing the places with the highest number of visitors and places where families have reserved something for a family event this weekend,” he added.
Supplying residents without electricity
In addition to the damage to nature, many residents were without electricity on August 9.
As of 5:04 p.m. Aug. 9, FirstEnergy said more than 15,000 customers in Geauga County, 124,000 customers in Cuyahoga County and 26,000 customers in Lake County were without power. This affected more than 90 percent of customers in Mentor-on-the-Lake and more than 73 percent in Kirtland.
The Kirtland Public Library is one of the facilities in the area that has power and internet available to residents affected by the outages.
“We opened up our meeting room and put tables there so people could bring their laptops and charge things because people were sitting on the floor and stuff,” said Assistant Library Director Gina Barkett. “So we had to kind of spread out.”
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Local YMCAs also serve residents in Lake and Geauga counties.
The Lake County YMCA announced that its branches in Willoughby, Painesville and Madison will be open to non-members and members who want to shower, grab a cup of coffee, connect to the internet or work out. Photo ID is required for those 18 and older.
“We can envision this continuing as long as we see that our community still needs these amenities or anything we can offer here, just to have a little peace of mind and of course support our community,” said Kelly Penzenik, communications and marketing director.
Penzenik added that the offer also applies to residents of communities surrounding Lake County.
The Geauga County YMCA also announced in a press release that it will be open to residents in need of air conditioning, showers, device charging and refreshments.
FirstEnergy announced on August 8 that power is expected to be restored to most customers by August 14.
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