Lake Sara Closed Due to Heavy Rains; Strong Winds Do Damage in Southern Effingham County

The weekend storms have closed Lake Sara and caused damage in the south part of the county.

Lake Sara Superintendent Mike Dirks notified the newsroom at 7:30pm Saturday that the lake will be closed until further notice due to the heavy rains received in the area and the promise of more rainfall throughout the weekend.

Strong winds also did damage Saturday in the south part of the county. A portion of the roof was pulled off St. Anne Catholic Church as seen below. Thanks to our Matt Robinson for the photo.

Crews got the roof pretty much back in place Sunday morning.

Downed power lines have resulted in interruptions in electric service thoughout the area. A tree fell across the northbound lane of US Route 45 near the Mason-Eberle Road, and another tree fell on a house in Edgewood with several other trees and large branches blown down in the area, and a semi was blown over on I-57 between the Edgewood and Mason-Watson interchanges, although there is no road blockage.

Two Hofnet Communication towers were blown down by the storm, one in the Mason area and another near Kinmundy. Crews are expected to need three or four days to complete repairs.