Lake Forest residents have until Friday, July 31, to get storm-damaged branches and limbs to the curb for city pickup. After that, Public Works crews move on.

The deadline is part of the city's coordinated cleanup following the severe storm that struck Monday, July 27, knocking out power to 3,698 Lake Forest customers and downing trees across the community. City departments including Public Works, Police, and Fire worked overnight and resumed operations before sunrise Tuesday, July 28, according to a city update published by the Lake County Gazette. Mayor Pro Tem Robert Pequeño's office coordinated the city's storm response communications.

As we reported Tuesday, the storm left tens of thousands without power across Lake County. Here's what has changed since then for Lake Forest households.

Debris pickup: storm material only

Public Works is collecting residential storm debris through Friday, July 31. Only storm-damaged branches and limbs qualify. Regular yard waste, furniture, or other items left at the curb will not be collected.

The city is working in two phases: Phase 1 cleared trees and debris from roadways to restore safe travel. Phase 2, now underway, covers community-wide cleanup of parkways and public property.

Residents should report only branches or trees that pose an immediate safety concern, such as those blocking roadways, creating hazardous conditions, or involving downed utility lines. The city asks that non-urgent reports be held so crews can focus on the highest-priority hazards.

Do not attempt to move or cut branches entangled with utility lines.

Power restoration timeline

ComEd set a target of restoring 80% of outages by noon Wednesday, July 29, with the vast majority of remaining customers expected back online by 10 p.m. Friday, July 31. Whether the Wednesday noon milestone was met could not be independently confirmed at publication time. Residents can check current status at ComEd.com/OutageTracker.

The utility said Tuesday it was dealing with a level of severe weather unlike what it has seen in recent years, according to the Chicago Tribune. ComEd said its service area has already experienced more storms in 2026 than in all of 2025.

Lake Forest's 3,698 affected customers made it one of the hardest-hit communities in the Chicago area, where more than 214,000 customers remained without power as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Patch reported.

Forest Park Beach open, but no restrooms

Forest Park Beach is open. However, the facility has no power, which means restrooms are closed because the pump system is not operational. Staff are working to bring in portable restrooms.

Summer camps are running on schedule, but beach trips have been canceled until power returns to Forest Park Beach.

What else is open

The Recreation Center, Fitness Center, Dickinson Hall, and Stirling Hall are all operating normally.

Traffic and road safety

Motorists should expect temporary road closures and traffic delays as crews continue clearing debris. Intersections with non-functioning traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops.

What's next

Both the debris pickup deadline and ComEd's final restoration target converge on Friday, July 31. The city said it will post updates on cityoflakeforest.com and its social media channels as conditions change.